Innovative technologies are needed urgently to increase efficiencies of chemical to electrical energy conversions, thereby decreasing associated environmental burdens. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are potentially attractive reactors for direct, highly efficient, environmentally-benign conversion of chemical to electrical energy, with prospective markets estimated at billions of pounds. However, they have yet to be mass-produced, because of complex, expensive processing procedures used hitherto, which require simplifying and because operating temperatures need to be decreased, without compromising reactor performance. The proposed project aims to build upon recent research on the fabrication of dual structure ceramic membranes, establish the feasibility of a novel means of fabricating solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), with optimised electrode microstructures, stable overall structures and much lower costs.
A single SOFC can be shaped into tubular, flat-plate or planar, bell-and-spigot, banded, or corrugated structures. The tubular SOFC configuration has been favoured by e.g. Westinghouse/Siemens, because such a single cell may be relatively easy to assemble into a cell stack, leading to a lower processing cost. On the other hand, the single SOFC in other configurations may possess higher performances, but the problem of high temperature sealing may be more problematic.