Solid Oxide Fuel Cells for Power Generation and Hydrogen Production

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have been under development for a variety of power generation applications. Power system sizes considered range from small watt-size units (e.g., 50-W portable devices) to very large multi-megawatt systems (e.g., 500-MW base load power plants). Because of the reversibility of its operation, the SOFC has also been developed to operate under reverse or electrolysis mode for hydrogen production from steam (In this case, the cell is referred to as solid oxide electrolysis cell or SOEC.). Potential applications for the SOEC include on-site and large-scale hydrogen production. One critical requirement for practical uses of these systems is long-term performance stability under specified operating conditions. Intrinsic material properties and operating environments can have significant effects on cell performance stability, thus performance degradation rate. This paper discusses potential applications of the SOFC/SOEC, technological status and current research and development (R&D) direction, and certain aspects of long-term performance degradation in the operation of SOFCs/SOECs for power generation/hydrogen production.