Patent ID: 8241810

Claim:
A system, comprising: a ventilation enclosure having a front side, a rear side, and a frame generally between the front and rear sides; a plurality of power modules received within the frame, each of the power modules comprising an external casing, a fuel cell stack housed within the external casing, a fuel inlet for supplying fuel to the fuel cell stack, and at least one exhaust outlet for discharging exhaust gases from the power module, the fuel inlet and the exhaust outlet being accessible through the external casing at a rear of the power module; a ventilation shaft arranged along the rear side of the ventilation enclosure and comprising a plurality of connection apertures, each of the connection apertures being adapted to sealingly receive the rear of a respective power module so that the exhaust outlet of the respective power module discharges into the ventilation shaft; a fuel supply pipe extending into the ventilation shaft, and arranged to supply fuel to the fuel inlets of the power modules; and an exhaust pump connected to the ventilation shaft and arranged to draw exhaust fluid out of the ventilation shaft, wherein each of the power modules is removably attachable to the ventilation shaft through the front side of the ventilation enclosure, and with the respective unoccupied connection aperture of the ventilation shaft being sealable to prevent air ingress into the ventilation shaft when the power module is not present.