(Invited) Current Status of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Technology and Commercialization

Abstract

After almost four decades of research and development, considerable progress has now been made in the development and commercialization of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) for clean and efficient power generation. The main advantages of SOFCs are low emissions, fuel flexibility, and high efficiency. The SOFC power generation systems are now sold commercially with units totaling over 500 MW installed or on order, for small residential units (~1 kWe), commercial and industrial systems (100-400 kW), and microgrids (several MW). The most important need to further accelerate commercialization of SOFC technology is to significantly reduce the overall cost of such systems while maintaining adequate performance and performance stability with time. This overview focuses on the designs, materials, processing, and performance of solid oxide fuel cells, and discusses the progress in the deployment of power generation systems built with various design solid oxide fuel cells and their operating experiences. Challenges in reducing cell and system costs are also summarized. SOFCs can also be operated in reverse operating mode for hydrogen and syngas production through electrolysis of steam and mixtures of steam and carbon dioxide; interest in such solid oxide electrolysis has greatly increased during the last decade. Application of solid oxide cells for electrolysis is also discussed in this overview.