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This is to certify that the Seminar Report entitled “APPLICATION OF FUEL CELLS” being submitted
by Mr. KHIRAD JAGARWAL (B.Tech VIII Sem.) for the partial fulfillment of the requirement of the
Technology Management &Gramothan Jaipur is recorded for the seminar work carried out by him.
DATE: ___________
PLACE: ___________
Swami Keshvanand Institute of Technology, Management
&Gramothan, Jaipur
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The satisfaction and euphoria that accompany the successful completion of any work will
be incomplete unless I mention the names of these people who made it possible.
ABSTRACT
Ancillary Services have always been an integral part of the electricity industry. They were and
are always needed when electricity is to be transferred reliably and delivered with satisfactory
quality. In India also, ancillary services have grown along with the grid. They have traditionally
been a part of grid operation and are mostly mandatory. Reforms in Indian electricity sector along
with evolution of electricity markets have led to a paradigm shift and electricity is now seen as a
tradable commodity, rather than just an infrastructural requirement.
In a ‘market oriented electricity industry’, commercial mechanisms need to be in place for
procurement of various services and to have prompt response from the entities. As a result
ancillary services also should be separated from basic system services and remunerated
appropriately. This gains additional strength from the fact that a structured ancillary service
market would complement reliability of the power system
Fuel Cells: Technologies and Applications
1
Materials Science & Electrochemistry Via Mantova n.11, Anzio, Italy
2
Science Department, University of “Roma Tre” Via della Vasca Navale n.84, 00146, Roma, Italy
Abstract: A deep analysis of the Fuel Cells technologies state of the art has been done in this article. After a general de-
scription of the fuel cell base structure the six most important fuel cell technologies Polymeric Electrolyte Membrane Fuel
Cells (PEMFC), Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC), Alkaline Fuel Cells (AFC), Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC),
Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC), Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) are explained, describing advantages and disadvan-
tages of each one and pointing out their principal use. The future development are also shown.
Keywords: Fuel Cell, PEMFC, PAFC, MCFC, SOFC, AFC, DMFC.
Electrons -
DC power
Fuel,
Anode
Hydrogen
Electrolyte
Air (oxigen)
Cathode
Water Heat
Table 1. The Different Fuel Cells that have been Realized and are Currently in Use and Development
PEMFC
AFC Polymer Elec- DMFC PAFC MCFC SOFC
Alkaline trolyte Mem- Direct Methanol Phosphoric Acid Molten Carbonate Solid Oxide
brane
800-1000
Operating
<100 60-120 60-120 160-220 600-800 Low temperature
temp.(°C)
(500-600) possible
Perfluoro
Perfluoro sulfo- Li2CO3-K2CO3 eutec- YSZ
sulfonic acid H3PO4 immobilized in SiC
Electrolyte KOH nic acid (Nafion tic mixture immobi- (yttria stabilized
(Nafion mem- matrix
brane) membrane) lized in -LiAlO2 zirconia)
Charge
carrier in
the electro- OH- H+ H+ H+ CO32- O2-
lyte
- CH3OH + H2O 2-
Anode reac- H2+2OH→ H2→ 2H+ + H2+CO3 →
- → H2 → 2H+ + 2e- H2 + O2- → H2O + 2e-
tion 2H2O + 2e- 2e + - H2O + CO2 + 2e-
CO2 + 6H + 6e
+
Cathode ½O2 + H2O + ½O2 + 2H + 3/2 O2 + 6H+ + ½O2 + 2H+ + 2e- → H2O ½O2 + CO2 + 2e- → ½O2 + 2e- → O2-
- - -
- 2-
reaction 2e → 2OH 2e → H2O 6e → 3H2O CO3
Anode: Ni-YSZ
Anode: Pt,
Electrode Anode: Ni PtRu Anode: Pt, PtRu Anode: Pt, PtRu Anode: Ni-5Cr Cathode: lanthanum
materials Cathode : Ag Cathode: Pt Cathode: Pt Cathode: NiO(Li) strontium manganite
Cathode: Pt
(LSM)
Transportation Combined heat and power Combined heat and power for stationary decen-
Applications Space, Military for decentralized stationary tralized systems and for transportation(trains,
Energy storage systems power systems boats, …)
Some of these technologies are used for: static or distrib- 2. POLYMERIC ELECTROLYTE MEMBRANE FUEL
uted electrical generation, vehicle propulsion, mobile electric CELLS (PEMFCS)
generation while others are simply used as auxiliary power Polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEMFCs) are environ-
generators. mental friendly and efficient energy conversion devices that
The main aim of the following chapters of this paper will are expected to play a dominant role in future energy solu-
be the analysis of the of each one of those technologies listed tions.
before in regards of the structure of the fuel cell, the advan-
They obtain the conversion of the chemical energy of a
tages and disadvantages of the technology and the actual
fuel into electricity by the hydrogen oxidation reaction and
applications of that technology in the fuel cells market [6].
oxygen reduction reaction over a proper catalyst; the only
side products of this process are water and heat.
6 The Open Fuel Cells Journal, 2013, Volume 6
PEMFC operates at temperature between 70 °C and 100 Giorgi and Leccese
°C with a polymer electrolyte membrane, separating the fuel
(hydrogen) from the oxidant (air or oxygen), which is a ma-
terial that allows hydrogen ions to move through the mem- membrane
brane layer. electrode electrode
The low operating temperature allows them to be started
quickly (low warm-up time) and results in less wear on sys-
tem components thus increasing the cell durability. However
a noble-metal catalyst (typically platinum) is required in or-
der to start the electrochemical process at low temperatures.
This fuel cell is fed with hydrogen, which is oxidized at
the anode, and oxygen that is reduced at the cathode. The
protons released during the oxidation of hydrogen are con-
ducted through the proton exchange membrane to the cath-
ode. Since the membrane is not electronically conductive,
the electrons released from the hydrogen travel along the
electrical external load, provided thus generating an electri-
cal current.
Fig. (3). MEA structure.
This technology has drawn the most attention because of
its simplicity, viability, quick start-up (due to the low opera-
tive temperature), and it has been demonstrated like a valid The electrodes and the electrolyte layer are then joined
solution for the generation of static and mobile electrical together, by hot pressing process, in order to create a “mem-
power. brane electrode assembly” (MEA) [1, 4, 12].
The PEMFC has been even proposed as a power source The MEA is composed by a proton exchange membrane,
for zero emission vehicles. PEMFC systems are particularly two catalyst layers, and two gas diffusion layers (GDL).
well suited for vehicle applications since they do not require Typically, these components are individually fabricated and
the use of hazardous fluids, and they enjoy high power den- then pressed to together at moderate temperatures and pres-
sities and low operating temperatures. However, cold start sures.
issues should be improved for a successful vehicle applica- 2.1.1. The Membrane
tion of PEM fuel cells. Although many different types of membranes are used,
by far that most common is Nafion (DuPont), a sulphonated
2.1. PEMFC Structure
polymer with a PFTE backbone [13]. The Nafion is created
The PEMFC, like all fuel cells, consists of three basic through the addition of sulfonic acid groups into the bulk of
parts (see Figs. 2 and 3); the anode, the cathode, and the a polymer matrix of Teflon and its layer has a thickness be-
membrane. These three areas are often manufactured from tween 50 and 175 µm. The thinner Nafion membrane allows
separate sheets, and the PEM is no exception. a higher conductivity of the cell, but introduces a more prob-
lematic water management; a thicker membrane slows down
the conductivity.
Usable Electricity
Anode Cathode
- - Lamp - -
H2 O2
- - - - -
- -
H2 O2
+ +
+ Protons
H2O
+
Membrane
Electrode Assembly
Gas Flow
O2 Channel
H2
H2
ElectroPhen Endplate
ElectroPhen Bipolar O2
plate Repeat Unit
These costs are far too high to allow the technology to be The catalytic layer is composed by a mixture of a cata-
competitive with those based upon fossil fuels. lyst, which is usually a combination of platinum ( at the
cathode) and platinum-ruthenium alloy (at the anode) nano-
In conclusion further development focused on the reduc- particles and a ionomer. As the membrane the ionomer is
tion of the cell costs (like finding new catalysts and building composed by a perfluorosulfonic acid polymer. The main
materials) is still needed for a mass introduction of PEMFC characteristic of the catalytic layer is its mixed conductivity
on the market. for both protons and electrons.
The water electrolysis is the best way to produce high The diffusion layer is composed by a mixture of carbon
purity hydrogen without using fossil fuels. Unfortunately, the and Teflon with hydrophobic properties which allows both
electrolysis requires high energy consumption of electri-cal the transportation of oxygen molecules to the catalyst layer
power. Therefore, the only way to efficiently produce H 2 by of the cathode and the escape of CO2 molecules from the
this technology is to use the off-peak electrical power anode.
obtained by nuclear or hydroelectric plants. The combination of the membrane and the electrodes
gives life to the MEA assembly which thickness is usually
3. DIRECT METHANOL FUEL CELLS (DMFCS)
around 1 millimeter [23-25].
DMFCs are another technology of fuel cells, based upon When the cell is activated a liquid flux of methanol is
a polymer electrolytes membrane (PEM) which operates at injected into the anode from where it is diffused inside the
temperatures between 70 and 100 °C. diffusion layer. The methanol reaches the catalytic layer
The differences between DMFC and PEMFC resides in where it is oxidized into carbon dioxide, protons and elec-
the fuel used, which in this case is constituted by liquid trons. At this point the protons diffuse trough the Nafion
membrane and electrons trough the catalytic layer but, while
methanol dissolved in water. As the PEMFC, the DMFC are
the electrons are collected by the cathode thus generating an
considered an environmental friendly technology since there electrical current, the protons that diffuses through the mem-
is no production of sulfur or nitrogen oxides (only carbon brane react at the cathode with oxygen to produce water.
dioxide).
The main advantage of DMFC resides in the fuel used, 3.2. DMFC Characteristics and Applications
since methanol is a cheap and easy to produce fuel which can
Due to the capacity of injecting the fuel directly into the
be directly injected and used inside the cell itself thus allow-
cell, the air breathing and their low operative temperature,
ing a simple cell structure and consequently lower weights. the DMFC are the smallest fuel cell actually on develop-
ment. In addition due to the same characteristics deriving
3.1. DMFC Structure from their structure the DMFC are a quite noiseless and en-
The core of a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell is the polymer vironment friendly technology [23].
electrolyte ion exchange membrane. As the PEMFC the state Another main point of these cells is that they work on
of the art in membranes is Nafion. This polymer has sites methanol which is much more easy to store and to produce
with strong ionic properties acting as proton exchange sites than hydrogen, without the hazard of explosions as in the
[1, 4]. case of the hydrogen.
The membrane faces are in direct contact with the anode Thanks to the small dimensions, the low temperature
and the cathode which both consists in a three layer structure operative range and the high usability of the fuel, DM fuel
made by: a catalytic layer, a diffusion layer and a backing cells are actually a well seen technology for portable applica-
layer (Fig. 5). tions and generators.
LOAD
- +
6e- 6e-
CO2
Unused CO2+6H H+ H+ H2O, AIR
3H2O Unused O2
Methanol/Water H+ H+
+
H H+
H+ H+
+
H H+
FUEL OXIDANT
CH3OH+H2O + + 6H++3/2O
Methanol/Water H H 2 AIR (O2)
Anode Cathode
- Electrode + Electrode
There are many types of Alkaline fuel cells with different 4OH-
operative temperatures ranges while the technology allows
for a general temperature between 30 °C and 250 °C (AFC
for space applications can start up even at temperatures low- Electrolyte
er than zero). AFCs use liquid KOH (a solution of potassium H2O KOH solution
hydroxide) as the electrolyte and are fueled by hydrogen.
The oxidant must be pure oxygen, not air, due the carbonata-
tion of the electrolyte by CO2 contained in the air (300 ppm).
Each cell generates a voltage between 0.5 V and 0.9 V de- Anode Cathode
pending on the design with an electrical efficiency that can
be up to 65% [26].
Fig. (6). AFC structure.
12 The Open Fuel Cells Journal, 2013, Volume 6 Giorgi and Leccese
This AFC variant, in order to work, requires the injection market is the CO2 poisoning of the electrolyte [29].
of pure oxygen inside the cathode. As the other design the
In fact due to the high reactivity of OH - ions with carbon
hydrogen is done to circulate in order to remove the gaseous
and its composites even the slightest quantity of CO 2 can
water product while a cooling system works to keep the fuel
greatly compromise the cell efficiency. This implies that the
cell within the required operational temperature range [3,
cell must be fueled with pure hydrogen and oxygen which is
28]. not a problem inside an environment like space but it be-
Dissolved fuel AFC’s: this is the simplest type of AFC comes a great burden inside the earth atmosphere. As a mat-
regarding the realization. Inside this design, like in the oth- ter of fact very expensive purification systems are required in
ers, potassium hydroxide is used but this time the electrolyte order to guarantee the gases purity thus greatly increasing the
is combined with a fuel like hydrazine or ammonia. This effective cost of a power generator based on AFCs. The re-
type of AFC, which is not suitable for large power genera- sult is that the AFCs are still the main technology used inside
tors, have high problems regarding the fuel crossover but the space environment as well as inside many applications
they can be ignored since the catalyst used is not platinum regarding submarines, but they are not considered a suitable
(thus greatly reducing the costs for the substitution of the technology for static or mobile applications on earth.
catalyst)[28]. If we don’t take into consideration the space and defense
Another big problem is that the most suitable fuel for this sector up to today only a few power units between 1 and 10
cell is the hydrazine (due to the capacity to dissociate into kW have been realized. The constructors involved on those
hydrogen and nitrogen) which is a toxic, carcinogen and ex- initiatives are Astris Energy and Apollo Energy Systems in
plosive fuel [3]. USA and AFC energy, Hydro Cell OY and Vito in Europe
[22].
4.2. Alkaline Fuel Cell Characteristics and Applications
5. PHOSPHORIC ACID FUEL CELL (PAFC)
Summarizing up what have been said alkaline fuel cells
can boast many advantages: While AFC where the first type of cell to be used inside
power applications, the Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cells (PAFC)
wide operating temperature range;
were the first type of cell to be commercialized. Firstly de-
high simplicity of the cell structure; veloped in the mid-1960s and field -tested since the 1970s,
fast start up; up to today these types of cells have been constantly
improved in both stability, performance, and cost.
competitive costs for the cell construction (due to the
The electrolyte used inside PAFCs is phosphoric acid
simplicity of the materials involved);
(H3PO4) that, due to its bad ionic conductivity, requires op-
capacity to reach an electrical efficiency of 65% (which erative temperatures between 150 ºC and 220 ºC to properly
is really high for cold fuel cells); work. As a result a PAFC cell is no more a quick start, low
a life cycle time between 10,000 and 15,000 hours due to temperature fuel cell.
the good compatibility of the materials in the cell (how- The fuel required for the cell is always hydrogen how-
ever life cycles of 40,000 hours are required in order to a ever due to the high temperature range of the cells pure hy-
full commercialization of a fuel cell technology). drogen is not required. This allows the cell to be fueled with
As a result if compared with PEM fuel cells the AFCs are relatively impure hydrogen which can be easily derived from
cheaper and more efficient. The reason which prevents the fuel reforming process.
AFCs to become the dominant fuel cell technology on the
Hydrogen e- e- Oxygen
Hydrogen Ions
Hydrogen e- e- Oxygen
Carbon
Water Carbonate Ions Dioxide
ANOD
H2 + CO3 H2O + CO2 + 2e
CO + H2O CO2 + H2 + Heat
e-
ANODE
ELECTROL
CATHODE
CATHO e-
½ O2 + CO2 + 2e CO3
CO2 + Air
to both efficiently disperse the reactant gasses up to the ma- heated steam generated by PAFCs is too low in tempera-
trix layer interface and to collect the electrons. ture to be used inside big combined heath systems.
The cell works by dissociating the hydrogen fueled to the Such characteristics have made the PAFC an ideal candi-
anode into protons and electrons. The electrons are collected date for early small and medium stationary applications.
by the anode thus generating an electrical current. Mean- However in order to began a massive commercialization of
while the protons diffuses in the phosphoric acid through the the technology there are still some objectives that must be
matrix layer until they reach the cathode where they recom- reached [31, 32]:
bine with the oxygen generating heated water [30]. an operative life cycle of at least 80,000 hours; a
The electrolyte used is phosphoric acid since it is the only
cost for power generation below 1,200 €/kW.
inorganic acid with the thermal, chemical and electro-
chemical stability required in order to be actively used inside The major constructors involved into the development of
PA fuel cell. PAFC are up to today the UTC Power and Hydrogen in the
Also since phosphoric acid requires high operative tem- USA, Fuji Electric Advanced Technology and Toshiba In-
perature ranges, and does not react with CO2 to form carbon- ternationals Fuel Cells in Japan [22].
ate ions, both carbon monoxide poisoning and the formation
6. MOLTEN CARBONATE FUEL CELLS (MCFC)
of carbonate are not an issue for PAFCs.
Molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC) represent an high
5.2. Phosphoric acid fuel cell characteristics and applica- temperature technology of fuel cells which are currently be-
tions ing developed as a solution for static electrical power genera-
PAFC technology above all the other fuel cell technolo- tion or to work with other static generation applications
gies is the one with the most extensive operational experi- which are already on the market like coal based power plants
ence with more than 400 systems (mostly 100 kW to 400 kW or some industrial facilities.
power systems) installed worldwide (but the majority is MCFC are a technology of fuel cells which operates at
installed inside the U.S. and Japan). temperatures up to 650 °C using a liquid solution of alkali
In Japan, over 150 PAFC plants ranging from 50 kW to carbonate salts as the electrolyte.
500 kW capacity have been developed and installed, together MCFC represent an high temperature fuel cell technology
same plants 1-5 MW. The largest demonstration PAFC plant which can reach an efficiency of 45% that can be potentially
is also in Japan with 11 MW capacity that went into opera- raised up to 60% - 70% if the waste heat is correctly utilized.
tion in 1991 in the Tokyo Electric Power Company system at Due to the high temperature, MCFCs can be fueled with
the Goi Thermal station. gases like methane, natural gas or coal reformed gases.
Thanks to the data derived from all those applications the However due to the same high temperature they suffers from
PAFCs are the most reliable fuel technology on the market many problems such as fast degradation of the cell structure,
characterized by the qualities which are listed below [31] due to mechanical/corrosion problems, and constant loss of
[32]: the electrolyte, due to evaporation, inside the cell (which
an operating life cycle which exceeds 65,000 hours with implies the need to refuel it continuously).
an operative temperature between 150 ºC and 220 ºC;
6.1. Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell Structure
an electric efficiency up to 40% which can be boosted
up to 60% through the use of combined heath systems; The base structure of a MCFC is made with a ceramic
matrix containing the electrolyte Fig. (8) which is sur-
partial immunity from carbon monoxide poisoning (it is rounded by the anode, fueled by hydrogen rich fuel, and the
immune only if there is not an high concentration of this cathode, fueled by oxygen (usually air).
element inside the gas);
There are actually two mixtures of molten carbonate salts
capability to use hydrogen fuels without high level of (the high temperature is required in order to melt this mix-
purity like reformed carbon fuels thus reducing the costs ture) that could be used as the electrolyte. The two mixtures
for power generation. can be a combination of lithium carbonate and potassium
However PAFCs can’t really be consider an high tem- carbonate or lithium carbonate and sodium carbonate.
perature fuel cell but more likely a technology between the Those electrolytes are dispersed inside a porous and
low temperature fuel cells and the high temperature fuel chemically inert ceramic matrix made with lithium aluminate
cells. (LiAlO2). Inside this structure ceramic powder and fibers are
The operative temperature of the PAFCs is in fact too used in order to reinforce the whole mechanical strength.
low to be successfully used inside big stationary power gen- Furthermore a special polymer is used to create many sheets
erating applications (>5 MW) due to the following reasons: with constant thickness which are then impregnated with the
electrolyte to confine it.
fuels with high levels of carbon monoxide like natural
gasses and coal gasified gas can’t be used without poi- Regarding the electrodes thanks to the high operating
soning the platinum catalyst inside the cell; temperature, a relatively cheap catalyst like nickel can be
used instead of the much expensive ones like platinum.
Fuel Cells: Technologies and Applications The metal material used for the construction of the anode
and the cathode result exposed to both highly oxidizing and
reducing environments. This implies that in order to be used
those metal have to respect a certain array of strict require- The Open Fuel Cells Journal, 2013, Volume 6 15
ments.
high temperatures and the dissolution of the cathode
The anode is a porous electrode made with a nickel alloy
inside the electrolyte matrix, with the possibility to
(Ni-5Cr, Ni-xAl) as the catalyst. This alloys containis a small
short-circuit the cell;
percent of aluminum or chromium in order to suppress the
hot creep inside the electrode structure. slow starting times determined by the need to reach an
The cathode is realized with a porous nickel catalyst. operative temperature of 650 °C;
During the cell start-up, the nickel in contact with the elec- impossibility to re-start the cell stack after a shut-down.
trolyte (eutectic mixture of Li2CO3 and K2CO 3) is converted Therefore although there are demonstration programs all
to high conductive lithium doped nickel oxide (LixNi1-xO2). around the world, there is still a large effort in terms of re-
The cell requires time in order to start since it needs to search and development which is being carried on by many
reach a temperature of 650 °C. Upon reaching this tempera- organizations, industrial companies and universities. Those
tures the carbonate salts begin to melt and becomes conduc- efforts are focused upon the improvement of the cell opera-
tive by carbonate ions (CO32-). These ions are transported tive life cycle and the increase of the power density of the
from the cathode to the anode where they combine with hy- cell.
drogen to produce water, carbon dioxide and electrons. The- The main actors involved in this environment of research
se electrons are then collected by the anode and routed, are FuelCell Energy (FCE, USA), CFC Solutions (Ger-
through an external circuit, to the cathode thus generating many), Ishikawajima Harima Heavy Industries (IHI, Japan),
electricity and heat [12, 33, 34]. POSCO/KEPCO consortium and Doosan Heavy Industries
A particular configuration of MCFCs do not need exter- (Korea), GenCell Corportation (USA) [22].
nal reformers in order to convert fuels into hydrogen. In fact
due to the high temperatures the fuels can be directly con- 7. SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELLS (SOFC)
verted to hydrogen through a process called catalytic internal
Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) are another technology of
reforming which takes places in a pre-chamber inside the
high temperature fuel cell which was developed for station-
anode compartment. The main problem of this configuration
ary power applications of all sizes. SOFC operative tempera-
is the coarseness of the reforming catalyst, which reduce the
ture ranges between 800 °C and 1000 °C. Thanks to the high
life-time of the system.
temperatures a wide array of different fuels containing hy-
6.2. Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell Characteristics and drogen (coal gas, bio gas, propane, natural gas, hydrogen)
can be used since the fuel reforming takes place directly in-
Applications side the cell.
MCFCs are currently being developed and demonstrated SOFC detain a very good power efficiency, near 60%, a
in several countries around the world like USA, Japan, Ko- long term performance stability and an high thermal effi-
rea and Germany. The applications that are being demon- ciency. It is due to the high quality waste heat that the steam
strated ranges, regarding the generated power, between 125 generated can be used, when pressurized, with a gas turbine
kW and 1 MW [35, 36]. based combined heat system which is theoretically able to
The main advantages that the technology detain are boosts the electrical efficiency up to 80%.
summarized as follows: Another characteristic derived by the high temperatures
MCFCs efficiency goes up to 45% and, since high tem- is the possibility to start the electrochemical reaction by sim-
perature and steam is generated, if they are used with ply supplying air and without the help of noble metals used
combined cycles heath systems the efficiency of the as catalysts. This greatly reduces the costs sustained for the
MCFCs applications exceeds 50% – 60%; construction of the fuel cell.
MCFCs can use a wide array of hydrogen rich fuel like As a result these type of fuel cell has been the object of
natural gas or coal gasified gasses and, if the fuel re- intensive efforts in research and development on a world-
forming takes place inside the cell, the construction of wide basis.
an external reformer is not needed. These characteristics However the high temperature drawback is that heat con-
greatly reduce power generation costs; trol inside this type of fuel cell becomes really difficult. The
the possibility to use standard and low cost materials result is that these cells can hardly be integrated on portable
such as stainless steel and nickel based alloys greatly systems for electric generation.
participate in the reduction of the cell construction costs.
However the high temperatures involved and the electro- 7.1. Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Structure
lytes chemistry are the cause of the following disadvantages: Two types of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells actually exists: the
a low operative life cycle due to the corrosion caused by oxygen ion conducting type and the hydrogen ion conducting
the electrolyte used, the loss of the electrolyte due to the type. However since up to today no chemically stable elec-
trolytes where found for the hydrogen ion type, R&D around
the world have principally focused on the oxygen ion type.
The base structure of the cell is the same as always: an
electrolyte layer sandwiched between the anode and the
cathode (Fig. 9).
16 The Open Fuel Cells Journal, 2013, Volume 6 Giorgi and Leccese
Solid Oxide
Fuel Cells
Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
Air Depleted O2
Anode Electrolyte Cathode
Oxidant Heat
The electrolyte layer is composed by a thin solid ceramic electrons and generating heated water. The electrons are then
material which is usually a Yttrium doped zirconium oxide collected by the anode which generates the electrical current.
(YSZ) which is used due to its good ionic conductivity,
chemical stability and mechanical strength. The problem of 7.2. Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Characteristics and Applica-
this electrolyte is that it requires high temperatures in order tions
to reach the required conductivity needed by the cell to work
Solid Oxide Fuel Cells represents one of the most effi-
properly.
cient and interesting technology among fuel cells.
Regarding this argument there are many efforts focused
on the research of other materials to use as the electrolyte. Currently there are many high temperature SOFCs sys-
One example is scandium doped zirconium which has an tems with a power around 10 kW which are being demon-
higher ionic conductivity but is not used due to the high costs strated. Moreover there is a big interest into the development
it involves. Another solution is gadolinium or samar-ium of low temperature SOFCs for the use in automotive systems
doped cerium oxide, which is being currently used by Ceres [39].
Power Limited (UK); this material have an higher ion-ic Compared to the other fuel cell technologies SOFCs pre-
conductivity but in order to work properly it must operate sents the following advantages [37,40]:
around 600 °C. Many others electrolytes are under research the highest electric and thermal efficiency (up to 80%
but they still don’t have reached a good chemical stability.
with combined heath systems) among all the fuel cells;
Regarding the electrodes the cathode needs to have a
no need to use noble metals as catalysts inside the cell or
porous structure in order to allow the diffusion of the gase-
ous oxygen inside the interface between the cathode and the other expensive materials;
electrolyte. In order to do this and due to the high tempera- possibility to use many different low cost hydrocarbon
tures involved there are strict mechanical and chemical re- fuels (biogas, coal gas, natural gas);
quirements (chemical stability and a reasonable thermal ex- a long operative life cycle due to the low degradation of
pansion) so the material usually involved in the construction the materials (to be demonstrated);
is strontium-doped LaMnO3 [37-39].
the structural simplicity of the cell permits the simplifi-
The anode as the cathode needs to have a porous struc-
cation of the production lines;
ture and it is usually made with a composite cermet of nickel
and yttrium doped zirconium oxide (Nickel-YSZ). The nick- very low emissions both in terms of NOx and SOx if the
el works as a catalyst for the fuel oxidation but has many cell is supplied with hydrocarbon fuels (zero emissions
problems like high thermal expansion and coarsening of the if the cell is supplied with pure hydrogen);
microstructure. YSZ works in order to constrain these char- low noise production system.
acteristics and provides a good adhesion of the anode to the
electrolyte interface. The disadvantages are the long starting times (which is a
common disadvantage among high temperature fuel cells)
The cell works by supplying air to the cathode where the needed in order to reach the proper operative temperature
oxygen molecules are split into oxygen ions (O 2-) with the required by the cell electrolyte and the thermo-mechanical
addition of four electrons. The ions are transported through problems due to coupling of materials with different thermal
the electrolyte and when they reach the anode they recom- expansion coefficients.
bine with the hydrogen supplied thus releasing the additional
Fuel Cells: Technologies and Applications
The poor ability to thermal cycling of the SOFC cells The Open Fuel Cells Journal, 2013, Volume 6 17
impose to use this type of fuel cell only for stationary appli-
cations to achieve significant lifetime In the stationary power market, fuel cells could become
competitive if they reach an installed cost of $1,500 or less
Due to their high efficiency, low costs and environment per kilowatt. Currently, the cost is in the $4,000+ range per
friendly characteristics SOFCs will be a candidate, after the kilowatt. In the automobile sector, a competitive cost is on
PAFC technology, to reach a full commercialization on the the order of $60 - $100 per kilowatt, a much more stringent
fuel cell market. criterion.
In particular high expectations are placed on stationary The high capital cost (on a $/kW basis) today has led to a
and distributed power applications both inside North Amer- significant effort focused cost reduction. Specific areas in
ica and Europe. which cost reductions are being investigated include:
Since SOFCs characteristics are highly suitable even for 1. Material reduction and exploration of lower-cost material
portable applications there are a lot research efforts focused alternatives
on the reduction of the cell operative temperature. The aim
of those researches is to obtain a reduction around 450-600 2. Reducing the complexity of an integrated system
°C. 3. Minimizing temperature constraints (which add com-
Steady progress is also being made in terms of the devel- plexity and cost to the system)
opment of auxiliary power sources for private homes and 4. Streamlining manufacturing processes
automobiles.
5. Increasing power density (footprint reduction)
The main worldwide actors involved on this technology
are: Siemens Power Generation, Acumetrics, Bloom Energy, 6. Scaling up production to gain the benefit of economies of
Ceramics Fuel Cells, Hexis AG, Kyocera/Osaka Gas, Mitsu- scale (volume) through increased market penetration.
bishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Materials Kansai Electric It is diffucult to obtain informations on the actual cost of
Power, Tokyo Gas, Versa Power, Wartsilla Corp and SOF- fuel cells. Probably the must realiable data are coming
CPower [22]. Institut fur Kraft-Fahr-Zeuge of Aachen University
(Germany) [42] (Table 2).
8. COST AND DURABILITY OF FUEL CELLS
The Department of Energy (DOE) in USA claims to have
The high capital cost for fuel cells is by far the largest reduced the cost of automotive fuel cells from $275/kW in
factor contributing to the limited market penetration of this 2002 to $47/kW in 2012 and is targeting a cost of $30/kW by
technology. In order for fuel cells to compete realistically 2017 [43].
with other contemporary power generation technologies, These cost reductions reflect numerous individual ad-
they must become more competitive from the standpoint of vances in key areas, including the development of durable
both capital and installed cost (the cost per kilowatt required
membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) with low platinum
to purchase and install a power system) [41].
group metal (PGM) content.
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Received: May 16, 2013 Revised: June 12, 2013 Accepted: July 10, 2013