Sizeable cost reductions are possible with the planar design cells
through a concept called “mass customization” that is being pursued
in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solid State Energy Conversion
Alliance (SECA).7 This concept involves the development of a 3 to
10 kW size core SOFC module, that can be mass produced and then
combined for different size applications in stationary power
generation, transportation, and military market sectors, thus
eliminating the need to produce custom-designed and inherently
more expensive fuel cell stacks to meet a specific power rating. Very
high power densities of anode-supported planar SOFCs make them
very attractive for use in the core SOFC module.