Patent ID: 8293425

Claim:
A polymer electrolyte fuel cell, comprising: an electrolyte membrane that is made of a solid polymer; catalyst electrode layers that are arranged and formed on two opposed faces of the electrolyte membrane; gas separators that form reactive gas supply flow paths to allow passage of reactive gases subjected to an electrochemical reaction to the catalyst electrode layers, wherein the gas separators each comprise a cathode side plate, an anode side plate, and a middle plate, wherein the middle plate is disposed between the cathode side plate and the anode side plate; a holder element that is located on periphery of the electrolyte membrane and the catalyst electrode layers to support at least the electrolyte membrane; an expansion element having at least partly a serpentine or wavy structure that is linked with the holder element to be expandable in an electrolyte membrane surface direction; and a fixation element that is linked with the expansion element and fixed to one of the cathode side plates and one of the anode side plates of the gas separators.