Research
Research is going now in the direction of lower-temperature SOFC (600 °C) in order to decrease the materials cost, which will enable the use of metallic materials with better mechanical properties and thermal conductivity.
Research is currently underway to improve the fuel flexibility of SOFCs. While stable operation has been achieved on a variety of hydrocarbon fuels, these cells typically rely on external fuel processing. For the case of natural gas, the fuel is either externally or internally reformed and the sulfur compounds are removed. These processes add to the cost and complexity of SOFC systems. Work is underway at a number of institutions to improve the stability of anode materials for hydrocarbon oxidation and, therefore, relax the requirements for fuel processing and decrease SOFC balance of plant costs.
Research is also going on in reducing start-up time to be able to implement SOFCs in mobile applications. Due to their fuel flexibility they may run on partially reformed diesel, and this makes SOFCs interesting as auxiliary power units (APU) in refrigerated trucks.
Specifically, Delphi Automotive Systems are developing an SOFC that will power auxiliary units in automobiles and tractor-trailers, while BMW has recently stopped a similar project. A high-temperature SOFC will generate all of the needed electricity to allow the engine to be smaller and more efficient. The SOFC would run on the same gasoline or diesel as the engine and would keep the air conditioning unit and other necessary electrical systems running while the engine shuts off when not needed (e.g., at a stop light or truck stop).
Rolls-Royce is developing solid-oxide fuel cells produced by screen printing onto inexpensive ceramic materials. Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems Ltd is developing a SOFC gas turbine hybrid system fueled by natural gas for power generation applications on the order of a megawatt (e.g. Futuregen).
Ceres Power Ltd. has developed a low cost and low temperature (500–600 degrees) SOFC stack using cerium gadolinium oxide (CGO) in place of current industry standard ceramic, yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ), which allows the use of stainless steel to support the ceramic.
Solid Cell Inc. has developed a unique, low cost cell architecture that combines properties of planar and tubular designs, along with a Cr-free cermet interconnect.
The high temperature electrochemistry center (HITEC) at the University of Florida, Gainesville is focused on studying ionic transport, electrocatalytic phenomena and microstructural characterization of ion conducting materials.
SiEnergy Systems, a Harvard spin-off company, has demonstrated the first macro-scale thin-film solid-oxide fuel cell that can operate at 500 degrees.
Read more about this topic: Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
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