Fused filament fabrication for anode supported SOFC development: Towards advanced, scalable and cost-competitive energetic systems

Abstract

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) are electrochemical devices that efficiently convert hydrogen or other fuels into energy and heat and are considered a promising and environmentally friendly alternative to mitigate the effects of climate change. The difficulties found for the SOFC devices implementation into the market have triggered an enhanced need of research on the manufacturing strategy, since the cells and stack fabrication remain a complicated procedure. In this work, the capabilities of an additive manufacturing (AM) process, as it is Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), applied to anode supported SOFC were explored for the first time, due to the strengths this technology offers in terms of materials versatility and cost-competitive process. Moreover, the ability of tuning the support porosity during the printing process was demonstrated, minimizing the pore former concentration required and avoiding reformulation of the feedstock to achieve higher porosity in the anode. In the cell fabrication, low-cost techniques for thin film deposition were employed. The preliminary geometry investigated represents a novel SOFC device that shows an electrochemical performance comparable to that found in the conventional SOFC fabrication and it opens the possibility of potential single-cell and stack designs in which the use of ceramic sealing could be avoided and the system durability increased.