Fuel Cell Technology, Enabling a Robust Clean Energy Economy
Lead Research Organisation:
University of St Andrews
Department Name: Chemistry
Abstract
The philosophy of this proposal is to draw upon careful, focused basic studies enabling both technical development and commercial outreach to try to provide stepchange advances in Energy technology that have realistic possibility to be implemented in Industrial Development. The focus has been well informed by involvement in the Strategic Research Agenda of the European Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Platform. Our objective is to provide some of the solutions necessary to bring to fruition a vision of the new energy economy as stated below. We prefer not to follow the nuclear option; however, this only makes sense if renewable and clean energy technologies can demonstrate fairly soon that there does exist a viable non-nuclear solution, as we cannot leave Nuclear Technology on standby for very much longer, lest we lose capability. This is perhaps the gauntlet that the UK government Energy White Paper threw down for our clean Energy Community.By 2050 cheap oil will no longer be available and Europe's internal reserves will be exhausted. An increasing proportion of primary energy production will be from renewables such as solar, wind, tidal and biomass possibly supplemented by nuclear, natural gas and coal. We must rely on new energy carriers such as hydrogen, biogas or synfuels and liquid biofuels. These carriers will complement electricity as energy vectors, enabling some degree of energy efficiency optimisation, both on a local and a larger scale. A decentralised electricity generation infrastructure powered by a broad spectrum of renewable and clean technologies with a strong fuel cell component will have been created. The power network will largely be based upon self-contained nodes, each consisting of renewable and/or fuel cell systems. The advantages of this decentralised system arise from lower transmission losses, higher total energy efficiency and improved energy security. These nodes will be supported by a high value network powered by advanced thermal or nuclear systems, hydropower, buffered wind power and fuel cell systems. Our role is to develop high temperature electrochemical technologies to enable the efficient introduction of this new energy economy. Our early work will seek to optimise current fuel cell technology improving durability and stability and reducing cost of manufacture to enable widespread introduction. We will develop new anode formulations to enable efficient utilisation of more complex fuels, ranging from natural gas and LPG through biogas to liquid biofuels and biomass. Efficient utilisation of biomass is central to the new energy economy and this will be achieved by a range of mechanisms. Fuel cell technology is a particularly important enabler for biomass utilisation offering high efficiencies of conversion in fairly small unit sizes and is essential to the new distributed energy economy.Solid Oxide Fuel Cells seem certain to make a significant contribution to the future energy economy in 5-10 years, if good technological progress can be maintained; however, we only see this as one manifestation of this technology. Future development relates to efficient electrolysis, novel systems and carbon neutral fuel production. Efficient electrolysis to produce clean hydrogen is of key importance to the possibility of utilising renewable energy in transport. Similarly reversible fuel cells with careful thermal management can provide good buffering for intermittent power supplies.
Publications
Azad A
(2011)
Structure-property relationship in layered perovskite cathode LnBa0.5Sr0.5Co2O5+d (Ln=Pr, Nd) for solid oxide fuel cells
in Journal of Power Sources
Azad A
(2009)
Structural, magnetic and electrochemical characterization of La0.83A0.17Fe0.5Cr0.5O3-d (A=Ba, Ca) perovskites
in Materials Research Bulletin
Boulfrad S
(2011)
NbTi0.5Ni0.5O4 as anode compound material for SOFCs
in Solid State Ionics
Boulfrad S
(2010)
Adhesion and Percolation Parameters in Two Dimensional Pd-LSCM Composites for SOFC Anode Current Collection
in Advanced Functional Materials
Corre G
(2009)
Activation and Ripening of Impregnated Manganese Containing Perovskite SOFC Electrodes under Redox Cycling
in Chemistry of Materials
De Carvalho E
(2010)
Investigation of conductivity of (CexY0.2-x)Sc0.6Zr3.2O8-d (0<x<0.2) system and its dependence upon oxygen partial pressure
in Solid State Ionics
Dokmaingam P
(2010)
Modeling of IT-SOFC with indirect internal reforming operation fueled by methane: Effect of oxygen adding as autothermal reforming
in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
Gamble S
(2011)
8YSZ/(La0.8Sr0.2)0.95MnO3-d cathode performance at 1-3bar oxygen pressures
in Solid State Ionics
Jain S
(2008)
Solid state electrochemistry of direct carbon/air fuel cells
in Solid State Ionics
Jiang C
(2011)
Catalysis and oxidation of carbon in a hybrid direct carbon fuel cell
in Journal of Power Sources
Description | Some highlights of our activities supported by the Platform grant are nanostructural ripening of impregnated electrodes, in situ exolution of nanocatalysts, very good direct carbon fuel cell performance, a new red metallic photocatalyst and revision of the rolled tubular SOFC design. |
Exploitation Route | Important achievements have been made in the search for new oxide anodes for SOFCs with enhanced capability for hydrocarbon oxidation, with a new perovskite (La,Sr)Mn0.5Cr0.5O3 composition demonstrating real potential application. In collaboration with Gorte and Vohs at UPenn, utilising a YSZ electrode skeleton impregnated with Mn-containing Perovskite oxide, stable operation at 700mWcm-2 in dry methane has been achieved, significantly higher than has been reported previously. This high performance is found to be related to the growth of a fine nanostructure in situ under fuel conditions with the nanostructure reverting to a smooth coating under oxidising conditions. |
Sectors | Energy,Environment |