Fundamentals and Implementation of Oxide Anodes for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

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0854223BarnettThis award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Intellectual MeritThe present proposal is to explore new anode materials that will allow solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) to work directly with a range of practical fuels, including hydrocarbons, gasified biomass, or coal. SOFCs are of particular current interest because of their ability to produce electricity efficiently and with minimal pollution, but commercialization has been inhibited by the relatively high initial cost of the fuel cell power plants. SOFCs with the new anodes will enable considerable simplification of the power plants, especially reduction in the hardware used to convert the fuel to hydrogen and to remove fuel impurities. The resulting cost reductions should help speed the widespread introduction of fuel cell power plants. The project will include fundamental studies to determine and understand the properties of the new anode materials, as well as fabrication and electrical testing of SOFCs with the new anodes. Broader ImpactThe specific anticipated broader impacts are as follows: (1) A graduate research student will be recruited and trained, increasing the pool of experts in the areas of fuel cells, electrochemical devices, and energy/environment; (2) Undergraduate students will be actively recruited and engaged in research; (3) A high school teacher will be recruited under the research experience for teachers (RET) program, not only to participate in research but to bring demonstrations and experiments into the classroom; (4) Timely research developments on electrochemical energy systems will be incorporated into the Materials Science and Engineering curriculum; (5) Energy/environmental ideas and issues will be broadly disseminated to the public by participating in Chicago Museum of Science & Industry initiatives on interactive museum displays related to energy and the environment; and (6) The introduction of cost effective fuel-flexible SOFCs would improve fuel-to-electricity efficiency, reduce pollution, and help enable CO2 sequestration. This project was supported by the Energy for Sustainability Program of the CBET Division of the Engineering Directorate and the Ceramics Program of the Division of Materials Research (DMR) of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate.