Solid Oxide Cell technology
Solid oxide Cell technology is an enabler of efficient and emission free distributed power generation. Solid oxide cells (SOC) are the most efficient converters of fuel to power and heat and are particularly well suited for distributed power generation. SOCs also holds great promise for enabling the hydrogen economy through their use in electrolysers to store wind and solar electricity and producing green hydrogen or synthetic fuels.
What is solid oxide cell?
Solid oxide fuel cells use hydrogen or hydrocarbon to produce electricity through an electrochemical process, with heat as the by-product.
How the SOC operates?
Solid Oxide cells have three component parts: anode, cathode and electrolyte. The anode and cathode have a relatively high porosity, which allows gasses to pass through them. The cathode side receives oxygen (from air) and the anode receives hydrogen (and carbon monoxide if the hydrogen is derived from a hydrocarbon fuel source). The electrolyte, between the anode and cathode, is dense and conducts oxygen ions from the cathode to the anode. As the negatively charged oxygen ion combines with hydrogen, hydrogen transforms from H2 to H2O, or water. The negatively charged oxygen ions on the anode side supply electrons that return through an external load to the electron deficient cathode side, producing a flow of electrons, or electricity. Because of the electrochemical process and the resistance in the solid ceramic electrolyte, heat is also generated.
What is a solid oxide cell stack?
Single cell is the heart of any system. Typical industrially produced single planar SOC is a thin (ca 0.4 mm) plate, either rectangular (ca 12*12cm) or round (ca 15cm in diameter) in shape.
Single cells provide limited amounts of power and are therefore combined into stacks. A stack consists of multiple single cells, which are separated by similarly shaped metal interconnector plates. These connect single cells in series and contain channels for air and fuel distribution.
What is a solid oxide cell system?
One or multiple stacks are integrated into a fuel cell system.
A fuel cell system contains various components for fuel distribution, thermal management, power conversion, controls etc (Balance of Plant (BoP) components). These systems can generate efficient power in multiple applications – residential, commercial, industrial and transportation.
Request for SOFC White Paper
Fuel cells have the potential to reshape how the world is powered, allowing efficient, clean, and reliable off grid energy generation. They can help us sharply reduce our use of polluting fuels, moving from coal to cleaner fuel sources, and eventually to renewably generated hydrogen. This could dramatically reduce the world’s fossil fuel use and associated emissions. The implications are huge for power distribution, for energy bills, and most importantly for the environment.
SOFC White Paper includes
- How fuel cells can change the world
- How do SOFCs work?
- A brief history of fuel cells
- The challenges of fuel cells
- Major players on SOFC market
- The potential of SOFC market