3D Printing for Efficient Fabrication of Fuel Cells for Power Generation

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Power has always been an integral part of our daily lives as human beings, and, fuel cells are becoming increasingly important as a means of power generation. The solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) for example, operates similarly to a battery, except, SOFCs consist solely of solid materials and, advantageously, can continue to generate electricity if they are supplied with fuel. (Burgher, 2015)In industry, SOFCs are manufactured using an expensive, time consuming multi-stage process; therefore, my proposal is to research 3D printing as a prospective manufacturing method for such fuel cells. Their physical characteristics mean that it may be more efficient to 3D print the fuel cells. This is a fresh and exciting area as research has shown that additive fabrication technology, for example, aided by computer aided design (CAD), can be used to produce 3D structures by assembling smaller elements together: faster than conventional fabrication methods. (Hernández-Rodriguez et al., 2014) The fabrication would begin on a small laboratory scale, with the aim of detailing how the 3D printing method can be scaled for commercial production. The goal, of course would be to successfully detail a 3D printing method which is more efficient than the current methods. I am an excellent choice for this PhD studentship opportunity as I have already developed a good working relationship with one of my proposed supervisors, Dr Tao. I also scored 93% in my final year 'Fuel Cells and Energy Storage' module (ES96X); this module has lent me a strong background knowledge on fuels cells and batteries as well as the inspiration to pursue this opportunity. My target outcome is to produce five academic papers on my topic over the course of the degree and I believe that the passion, discipline and perseverance, with which I studied Fuel Cells and Energy Storage will see me through this degree.