Metal-supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Operated at 400~600{degree sign}C

Abstract

Metal-supported SOFCs potentially offer many advantages compared to conventional technology, such as low operating temperatures, reduced cost, and increased reliability. They are also a promising choice for applications that require quick start-up, good stability against thermal cycles and mechanical shock resistance such as Auxiliary Power Units (APU) for the automotive industry. The National Research Council of Canada's Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation (NRC-IFCI) has been working on the development of metal supported SOFCs since 2004. In this paper, a metal-supported SOFC with a samarium doped ceria (SDC)/scandia-stabilized zirconia (ScSZ) bilayer electrolyte was fabricated by a combination of pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and wet chemistry processing. The cell performance and aging characteristics were analyzed by AC impedance spectroscopy and current-voltage measurements during operation in the temperature range from 400oC to 600oC. The power generation characteristics at low temperatures of this metal- supported SOFC will be beneficial for quick start-up and is expected to alleviate the performance deterioration. These results at such an early stage of research is very promising for the future development of this technology.