Military Purpose Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stack Technology

摘要

NexTech Materials is developing military purpose solid oxide fuel (SOFC) cell stacks based on its patented FlexCell planar cell design. The FlexCell is an electrolyte-supported planar SOFC cell design based on a thin electrolyte membrane layer that is mechanically supported by a mesh of electrolyte material. More than 60 percent of the active membrane area is thin (30 to 40 microns), enabling high performance at targeted operating temperatures of 750 to 800°C. The dense cell periphery provides an optimum sealing surface, and thin anode layers in the FlexCell enable high single-pass fuel utilization without sacrificing performance. This eliminates the need for anode tail-gas recycling in some applications, reducing system complexity and lowering cost. For applications where ultra-high efficiency is desired, increasing single-pass utilization reduces the amount of recycling, resulting in higher overall performance and system efficiency.