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A fuel gas inlet, a fuel gas outlet, an oxygen-containing gas inlet, an oxygen-containing gas outlet, and other components, which are disposed at upper and lower portions at both ends in the lateral direction, are provided in a first fuel cell stack. A plurality of cooling medium inlets, a plurality

A fuel gas inlet, a fuel gas outlet, an oxygen-containing gas inlet, an oxygen-containing gas outlet, and other components, which are disposed at upper and lower portions at both ends in the lateral direction, are provided in a first fuel cell stack. A plurality of cooling medium inlets, a plurality of cooling medium outlets, and other components are provided at lower portions on the long side and at upper portions on the long side respectively. A cooling medium flows from the lower portions to the upper portions through cooling medium flow passages to cool the power generation surface smoothly and reliably.

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1. A fuel cell stack comprising: a plurality of fuel cell units each including an anode electrode, and a cathode electrode, and a solid polymer ion exchange membrane interposed between said anode electrode and said cathode electrode, said plurality of fuel cell units being stacked with separators in

1. A fuel cell stack comprising: a plurality of fuel cell units each including an anode electrode, and a cathode electrode, and a solid polymer ion exchange membrane interposed between said anode electrode and said cathode electrode, said plurality of fuel cell units being stacked with separators intervening therebetween, whereineach of said fuel cell units has a rectangular shape having a first side, a second side, a third side and a fourth side, the first side and the second side being opposite to each other and having a first length, the third side and the fourth side being opposite to each other and having a second length longer than the first length; anda fuel gas supply and discharge passage extends through said fuel stack for supplying a fuel gas to said plurality of fuel cell units and an oxygen-containing gas supply and discharge passage extends through said fuel cell stack for supplying an oxygen-containing gas to said plurality of fuel cell units,said fuel gas supply and discharge passage including: a fuel gas supply port at an upper portion of the first side; anda fuel gas discharge port at a lower portion of the second side, the fuel gas supply port and the fuel gas discharge port being formed at diagonally opposite portions in each of said fuel cell units,said oxygen-containing gas supply and discharge passage including: an oxygen-containing gas supply port at an upper portion of the second side; andan oxygen-containing gas discharge port at a lower portion of the first side, the oxygen-containing gas supply port and the oxygen-containing gas discharge port being formed at the other diagonally opposite portions in each of said fuel cell units;a plurality of fuel gas flow passages connecting said fuel gas supply port and said fuel gas discharge port, said fuel gas flow passages being serpentine passages each having only four turns along an entire length of the passage, each turn changing a direction of the fuel gas flow; anda plurality of oxygen-containing gas flow passages connecting said oxygen-containing gas supply port and said oxygen-containing gas discharge port, said oxygen-containing gas flow passages being serpentine passages each having only four turns along the entire length of the passage, each turn changing a direction of the oxygen-containing gas flow,wherein each of the fuel gas supply port, the fuel gas discharge port, the oxygen-containing gas supply port and the oxygen-containing gas discharge port has a port shape elongated in a gravity direction extending parallel to the first and the second sides. 2. A fuel cell stack according to claim 1, wherein said turns of said serpentine passages are provided at opposite lateral ends of said plurality of fuel cell units. 3. A fuel cell stack according to claim 1, wherein said serpentine passages include a plurality of first grooves and a plurality of second grooves, wherein a selected number of said plurality of first grooves merge into a selected number of said plurality of second grooves. 4. A fuel cell stack according to claim 3, wherein a number of said plurality of second grooves is less than a number of said plurality of first grooves. 5. A fuel cell stack comprising: a plurality of fuel cell units each including an anode electrode, a cathode electrode, and a solid polymer ion exchange membrane interposed between said anode electrode and said cathode electrode, said plurality of fuel cell units being stacked in a stacking direction with separators disposed therebetween,wherein each of said fuel cell units has a rectangular shape with a first side, a second side, a third side and a fourth side, the first side and the second side being opposite to each other and having a first length, the third side and the fourth side being opposite to each other and having a second length greater than the first length;a fuel gas supply and discharge passage and an oxygen-containing gas supply and discharge passage extending through said fuel cell stack for supplying a fuel gas to said plurality of fuel cell units through said fuel gas supply and discharge passage, and supplying an oxygen-containing gas to said plurality of fuel cell units through said oxygen-containing supply and discharge gas passage,said fuel gas supply and discharge passage including a fuel gas supply port formed at an upper portion of the first side in said plurality of fuel cell units anda fuel gas discharge port formed at a lower portion of the second side in said plurality of fuel cell units,said oxygen-containing gas supply and discharge passage including an oxygen-containing gas supply port formed at an upper portion of the secondside in said plurality of fuel cell units and an oxygen-containing gas discharge port formed at a lower portion of the first side in said fuel cell units; anda plurality of fuel gas flow passages connecting said fuel gas supply port and said fuel gas discharge port, wherein said plurality of fuel gas flow passages are serpentine passages each having only four turns along an entire length of the passage, each turn changing a direction of the fuel gas flow,wherein each of the fuel gas supply port, the fuel gas discharge port, the oxygen-containing gas supply port and the oxygen-containing gas discharge port has a port shape elongated in a gravity direction extending parallel to the first and the second sides. 6. The fuel cell stack of claim 5, further comprising a cooling medium supply and discharge passage for supplying a cooling medium provided at upper and lower portions in said fuel cell stack, said cooling medium supply and discharge passage including a supply port at a lower portion in said fuel cell stack and a discharge port at an upper portion in said fuel cell stack. 7. The fuel cell stack of claim 5, wherein said fuel gas supply port, said fuel gas discharge port, said oxygen-containing gas supply port and said oxygen-containing gas discharge port each have a rectangular shape having a first side and a second side, a length of the first side being longer than a length of the second side. 8. A fuel cell stack according to claim 5, wherein said serpentine passages include a plurality of first grooves and a plurality of second grooves, wherein a selected number of said plurality of first grooves merge into a selected number of said plurality of second grooves. 9. The fuel cell stack of claim 5, further comprising a plurality of oxygen-containing gas flow passages connecting said oxygen-containing gas supply port and said oxygen-containing gas discharge port. 10. The fuel cell stack of claim 9, wherein said plurality of oxygen-containing gas flow passages comprise serpentine passages each having four turns. 11. The fuel cell stack of claim 10, wherein said serpentine passages include a plurality of first grooves and a plurality of second grooves, wherein a selected number of said plurality of first grooves merge into a selected number of said plurality of second grooves. 12. The fuel cell stack of claim 5, wherein said fuel gas supply port and said fuel gas discharge port are formed at diagonally opposite portions in each of said fuel cell units. 13. The fuel cell stack of claim 5, wherein said oxygen-containing gas supply port and said oxygen-containing gas discharge port are formed at diagonally opposite portions in each of said fuel cell units. 14. A fuel cell stack, comprising: a plurality of fuel cell units each including an anode electrode, a cathode electrode, and a solid polymer ion exchange membrane interposed between said anode electrode and said cathode electrode, said plurality of fuel cell units being stacked in a stacking direction with separators disposed therebetween, each of the fuel cell units having a rectangular shape having a first side, a second side, a third side and a fourth side, the first side and the second side being opposite to each other and having a first length, the third and fourth side being opposite to each other and having a second length longer than the first length;a fuel gas supply and discharge passage extending through the plurality of fuel cell units for supplying a fuel gas to said plurality of fuel cell units through said fuel gas passage;a supply port for the fuel gas supply and discharge passage formed at an upper portion of the first side of the plurality of fuel cell units;a discharge port for the fuel gas supply and discharge passage formed at a lower portion of the second side of the plurality of fuel cell units; anda plurality of fuel gas flow passages connecting said fuel gas supply port and said fuel gas discharge port, said fuel gas flow passages being serpentine passages having only four turns along an entire length of the passage, each turn changing a direction of the fuel gas flow,wherein each of the fuel gas supply port and the fuel gas discharge port has a port shape elongated in a gravity direction extending parallel to the first and the second sides. 15. The fuel cell stack of claim 14, wherein the discharge port and the supply port are formed at diagonally opposite portions of said plurality of fuel cell units. 16. The fuel cell stack of claim 14, further comprising an oxygen-containing gas supply and discharge passage extending through said plurality of fuel cell units for supplying an oxygen-containing gas to said plurality of fuel cell units through said oxygen-containing gas passage. 17. The fuel cell stack of claim 16, further comprising a supply port for the oxygen-containing gas supply and discharge passage formed in an upper portion of the plurality of fuel cell units. 18. The fuel cell stack of claim 17, further comprising a discharge port for the oxygen-containing gas supply and discharge passage formed in a lower portion of the plurality of fuel cell units. 19. The fuel cell stack of claim 18, wherein the discharge port for the oxygen-containing gas supply and discharge passage and the supply port for the oxygen-containing gas passage are formed at diagonally opposite portions of said plurality of fuel cell units. 20. A fuel cell stack, comprising: a plurality of fuel cell units each including an anode electrode, a cathode electrode, and a solid polymer ion exchange membrane interposed between said anode electrode and said cathode electrode, said plurality of fuel cell units being stacked in a stacking direction with separators disposed therebetween, each of the fuel cell units having a rectangular shape having a first side, a second side, a third side and a fourth side, the first side and the second side being opposite to each other and having a first length, the third and fourth side being opposite to each other and having a second length longer than the first length;an oxygen-containing gas supply and discharge passage extending through said plurality of fuel cell units for supplying an oxygen-containing gas to said plurality of fuel cell units through said oxygen-containing gas supply and discharge passage;a supply port for the oxygen-containing gas supply and discharge passage formed at an upper portion of the first side of the plurality of fuel cell units;a discharge port for the oxygen-containing gas supply and discharge passage formed at a lower portion of the second side of the plurality of fuel cell units; anda plurality of oxygen-containing gas flow passages connecting said supply port and said discharge port, said oxygen-containing gas flow passages being serpentine passages having only four turns along an entire length of the passage, each turn changing a direction of the oxygen-containing gas flow,wherein each of the oxygen-containing gas supply port and the oxygen-containing gas discharge port has a port shape elongated in a gravity direction extending parallel to the first and the second sides. 21. The fuel cell stack of claim 20, wherein the discharge port and the supply port are formed at diagonally opposite portions of said plurality of fuel cell units. 22. The fuel cell stack of claim 20, further comprising a fuel gas supply and discharge passage extending through said plurality of fuel cell units for supplying a fuel gas to said plurality of fuel cell units through said fuel gas supply and discharge passage. 23. The fuel cell stack of claim 22, further comprising a supply port for the fuel gas supply and discharge passage formed in an upper portion of the plurality of fuel cell units. 24. The fuel cell stack of claim 22, further comprising a discharge port for the fuel gas supply and discharge passage formed in a lower portion of the plurality of fuel cell units.