Solid Oxide Fuel Cells as Promising Technology for Heavy-Duty Truck Auxiliary Power Units

摘要

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) are an attractive technology for auxiliary power units (APU) for heavy-duty trucks. SOFCs are interesting because they enable an easy utilization of hydrocarbon fuels within the APU. Moreover, they provide useful heat which can be used to warm the truck's engine block and to heat the driver's cabin. In this paper, an SOFC-APU based on methane as fuel is investigated by means of thermodynamic analysis. For this purpose, the main system components such as the reformer, SOFC stack, catalytic burner as well as heat exchangers and compressors are modeled and integrated into a complete system simulation. For a characteristic operating state of the APU, the electrical efficiency as well as the overall efficiency is calculated and compared with competing technologies. In addition, the energy flow chart of the APU is presented for the specified operating state.