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FuelCell Energy, Inc. (FCE) and its wholly owned subsidiary, Versa Power Systems, will collaborate with University of Connecticut and Sonata, LLC to develop a breakthrough portfolio of technologies to produce solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks and systems at costs below DOE targets and provide a cost competitive edge over existing technologies. The FCE team will develop a low-cost method of manufacturing the anode support layer by reducing the sintering temperature to less than 1300°C. The team will also investigate advanced manufacturing of the cell components and explore a technique to reduce the thickness of the barrier layer and decrease imperfections. The team will develop an innovative stack technology with two-pass flow geometry for better thermal management, material reduction, better packaging within stack modules, and ease of installation. The FCE team will design and fabricate a nominal 5 kilowatt-scale stack using full-size cells for testing for at least 1000 hours at normal operating conditions and prepare cost estimates for SOFC cell and stack technologies developed during this project based on high volume manufacturing techniques. The project will build on previous DOE funded work, most recently DE-FE0023186.
This FCE project will increase the reliability, robustness, and endurance of low-cost SOFC technology. It will advance the goal of developing a technology that will ultimately be deployed in coal power systems having greater than 60 percent efficiency and capable of capturing over 97 percent of CO2 at a cost-of-electricity approximately 40 percent below presently available Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle systems. The project is anticipated to reduce the cost of SOFC cells and stacks to levels that support the development of commercially viable SOFC technology for entry into large-scale central generation applications, which include Integrated Gasification Fuel Cell and Natural Gas Fuel Cell power plants.
