Review of Fuel Cell Technologies with CO2 Capture

Abstract

In 2016, the IEA estimated that CO2 emissions from the production of energy represented 42% of the total global emissions. To limit the increase of the Earth’s temperature to 1.5oC above pre-industrial levels in the framework of the Paris agreement, more than 1,950 GWe must be decarbonised within the power sector. Currently, the most advanced CO2 capture (CC) technologies applied to large-scale power plants are post- and pre-combustion capture and oxyfuel combustion. However, the main drawback of these technologies is the energy penalty, and consequent efficiency loss, which leads to a high Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE). As a result, novel energy systems, which promise high efficiency and low CO2 emissions, such as fuel cell (FC) hybrid power cycles with CC, merit research, development and detailed analysis of their potential economics. The objective of this paper is to review the techno-economic status of Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC) and Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) technologies for CC application. This includes their development status, optimal configurations, economic analysis, challenges to reach commercial operation and time frame to develop as candidates for future deployment at commercial scale. SOFCs and MCFCs have emerged as potential technologies in CC systems, with the added advantage of providing additional power production. Although promising, neither SOFCs nor MCFCs are commercially available for CC applications, primarily due to their low technological maturity and high associated costs of the FCs. The current authors have identified gaps in the literature that requires a unique study, containing a number of potential configurations, with an updated and homogeneous approach to assess the techno-economic performance of SOFCs and MCFCs as CC systems in power plants.