Design of High Specific Power Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Fuel-Cell Electric-Vehicle demonstrated by PCI was fueled with military-spec F-24/JP-8 and does not require on-board hydrogen storage. An onboard fuel reformer with integrated sulfur trap was used for processing these fuels. The 10-kW electric generator included a SOFC and balance of plant components. It was hybridized with a rechargeable battery for startup, peak loads, and load following. The power produced was sufficient for vehicle propulsion and export power. Both 28-32 VDC and 110 VAC for charging batteries and supporting external load demands were available onboard. Initial off-road demonstrations were successfully conducted at PCI and customer sites. This prototype unit showed the feasibility of utilizing hydrocarbon fuels with on-board reforming and SOFC stack to generate power suitable for mobile applications while the system weight and start-up time still need to be improved. To reduce the system weight and start-up time, we are separately investigating advanced SOFC’s that show potential to address the known limitations of the state-of-the-art technology. These advanced SOFC’s demonstrated potential for fast start-up and high-power density on the cell level at 750-800°C of operating temperatures. By optimizing the configuration and design, the system performance is expected to be further improved.