THE VISION FOR SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELLS: DEVELOPMENT OF A SOFC APU FOR THE TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY

摘要

The Solid Oxide Fuel Cell based APU has the potential to be a paradigm shift in the supply of electric power for transportation. The trend towards de-Unking the power generation from the vehicle's internal combustion engine is consistent with the new era of providing more comfort and safety for the customer in the transportation industry. The SOFC APU provides for this increasing demand for power in an efficient, environmentally friendly way. This technology also has a huge potential in stationary markets. This presentation describes key progress achieved in the design of a Generation 2 APU system that begins to overcome the challenges observed in the Proof of Concept system. Fundamental development of sub-systems is in progress to solve key technical issues required for the application in the transportation market. Initial results are encouraging and lead us to believe that these fundamental challenges (thermal cycling, fast heat-up) can be overcome. Delphi remains strongly committed to bringing SOFC technology as an APU to the market.