Non-destructive diagnosis of solid oxide fuel cell performance and degradation

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Solid oxide fuel cells are highly efficient energy conversion devices that produce electricity from a variety of readily available fuels with no smog-forming air pollution emissions and very low emissions of greenhouse gases. Reductions in smog would lead to a decrease in the occurrence and corresponding health care costs of respiratory diseases such as asthma, which have been demonstrated to be caused by air pollution. However, despite these potential environmental and health benefits, fuel cells remain limited in their use by insufficient reliability and durability. The proposed research program seeks to improve the lifetime and performance of solid oxide fuel cells by achieving an improved understanding of the causes of performance degradation. The research program investigates new techniques to identify the causes of performance degradation in solid oxide fuel cells. There are currently numerous causes of performance loss in fuel cells, which are difficult to distinguish from each other in standard degradation studies involving the monitoring of current density as a function of time at a given operating voltage. The proposed research program utilizes a novel combination of numerical modeling and experimental studies to non-invasively diagnose the causes of performance loss. This diagnosis is based on the identification of the various electrochemical signatures of each degradation mode, with the goal of using the knowledge gained to modify the materials and design of fuel cells in order to improve their reliability and durability. Resulting longer lifetimes and higher performances of solid oxide fuel cells will in turn lead to their more widespread use, thereby allowing Canadian society to enjoy greater benefits from their environmental and health advantages.