Patent ID: 8778553

Claim:
A fuel cell formed by stacking electrolyte electrode assemblies and separators alternately in a horizontal direction, said electrolyte electrode assemblies each including a pair of electrodes and an electrolyte interposed between said electrodes, wherein a reactant gas flow field for supplying a reactant gas is formed between said electrolyte electrode assembly and one of the separators sandwiching said electrolyte electrode assembly for supplying a reactant gas along a surface of said electrode, the reactant gas flow field extending straight from an inlet to an outlet of said reactant gas flow field, and a coolant flow field is formed between adjacent separators which are stacked together for allowing a coolant to flow in a direction substantially perpendicular to the flow direction of the reactant gas, and wherein a plurality of coolant supply connection channels aligned in the width direction substantially perpendicular to the flow direction of the coolant in said coolant flow field are provided, said coolant supply connection channels being connected to said coolant flow field, and formed to pass through said fuel cell in the stacking direction; and among said coolant supply connection channels, the flow rate of the coolant supplied from one of the coolant supply connection channels provided in an area near said outlet of said reactant gas flow field is smaller than the flow rate of the coolant supplied from another of the coolant supply connection channels provided in another area farther away from the area near said outlet of said reactant gas flow field, wherein said plurality of coolant supply connection channels include coolant passages extending though said fuel cell in the stacking direction, and the cross sectional areas of openings of said coolant passages are different depending on the position in the width direction.