Hydrogen production through steam electrolysis: Model-based dynamic behaviour of a cathode-supported intermediate temperature solid oxide electrolysis cell

Abstract

Hydrogen production via steam electrolysis may involve less electrical energy consumption than conventional low temperature water electrolysis, reflecting the favourable thermodynamics and kinetics at elevated temperatures. In the present paper, a one-dimensional model of a cathode-supported planar intermediate temperature solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) stack is employed to study the dynamic behaviour of such an electrolyser. The simulations found that step changes in the average current density cause the stack temperature to alter during both exothermic and endothermic operation. However, the temperature control, by the variation of the air flow through the stack, was predicted to be capable of returning the stack temperature to the initial value. Furthermore, the proposed control strategy is observed to reduce the interim temperature excursions between the initial and final steady states, suggesting that such a control strategy has a good potential to prevent the issues of cell component fracture, and transitions in stack operating mode, which are related to the temperature fluctuations during dynamic operation of an SOEC stack.