SOFC in brief
The solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) has existed for almost 100 years. The research
on SOFC started as early as the 1930s, with the most prominent work of Baur and
his colleagues particularly driven by the discovery of appreciable ionic conductivity
of the so called Nernst mass ¿ doped zirconia. However, this type of fuel cell only
obtained strong interest from the 1970s. It seemingly holds potential for electrical
efficiencies as high as 55%; up to 70% and 90% in hybrid configuration with gas
turbines and combined heat & power (CHP) generation, respectively. The SOFC
has the potential for application in transportation, too, for example, in vehicular
auxiliary power units (APU). Current SOFC technology demonstrates viable manufacture,
feasible power ranges and applications. This has been accompanied by
developments of new concepts, cell and stack designs, advanced and cost effective
processing methods and improved and novel materials.
The SOFC, like other fuel cells, is an electrochemical device for the conversion of
chemical energy of a fuel into electricity and heat.
MALKOW Thomas;
2008-05-22
Springer Science+Business Media, B.V.
JRC37576
978-1-4020-6994-9,
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