Patent ID: 8790839

Claim:
A fuel cell system comprising: a fuel cell stack comprising: a primary fuel cell sub-assembly having a first thermal mass; a secondary fuel cell sub-assembly having a second thermal mass smaller than the first thermal mass; a fuel generator; a first thermal coupling mechanism thermally coupling waste heat from the secondary fuel cell sub-assembly to the primary fuel cell sub-assembly; a second thermal coupling mechanism thermally coupling waste heat from the fuel cell stack to the fuel generator; a thermally insulated casing defining a thermally insulated volume encapsulating the fuel cell stack, fuel generator, first thermal coupling mechanism, and second thermal coupling mechanism, the thermally insulating casing further comprising a cap removably sealing an end of the casing, the cap and casing cooperatively defining the thermally insulated volume, the cap further comprising a processing unit and a process air intake, wherein the fuel cell stack is mounted to the cap.