2009 Solid State Energy Conversion and Fuel Cell Technology: Energy Department and the SECA Alliance for Developing SOFC Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, Government Reviews (CD-ROM)

This comprehensive electronic book on CD-ROM provides an up-to-date review of the government-sponsored Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) and its ongoing effort to develop Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. It contains government documents from the Department of Energy and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) on this important, environmentally-friendly energy source. The Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) was initiated in the fall of 1999 bringing together government, industry, and the scientific community to promote the development of environmentally friendly solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) for a variety of energy needs. SECA is an alliance of industry groups who individually plan to commercialize SOFC systems for predefined markets; research and development institutions involved in solid state development activities; and government organizations that provide funding and management for the program. The SECA alliance was formed to accelerate the commercial readiness of SOFCs in the 3 kW to 10 kW for use in stationary, transportation, and military applications. This partnership between the U.S. industry, universities, and other research organizations represents a new model for joint government and private industry technology research and development, and also provides an effective use of funding resources, which is critical to the success of the SECA Program. The goal of the Industry Teams is to develop SOFC system prototypes with a net power output of 3-kW to 10-kW. Each Industry Team is expected to: Propose a SOFC design for a target market; Coordinate the process of refining the design elements that will contribute to a high-power-density SOFC that can be mass-produced, with end-users and manufacturers; and Communicate their R&D gaps with the Core Technology Program. The Teams are independent and therefore compete with each other; however, all are committed to the concept of mass customization as the pathway to reducing the cost of fuel cell systems. The Industry Teams and Core Technology Program partners work together to develop the SECA SOFC. The Industry Teams provide necessary input to shape the Core Technology Program. As the Industry Teams develop and refine their SOFC designs, any R&D gaps are identified and given to the Core Technology Program participants to research. This allows the Industry Teams to continue their SOFC development process, while the Core Technology Program participants are develop and researching much-needed breakthrough technologies. Each Industry Team project is structured in three phases over ten years and follows the Minimum Requirements. At the end of each phase, the prototype is tested according to these minimum requirements. Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that convert chemical energy in fuels into electrical energy directly, promising power generation with high efficiency and low environmental impact. Because the intermediate steps of producing heat and mechanical work typical of most conventional power generation methods are avoided, fuel cells are not limited by thermodynamic limitations of heat engines such as the Carnot efficiency. In addition, because combustion is avoided, fuel cells produce power with minimal pollutant. However, unlike batteries the reductant and oxidant in fuel cells must be continuously replenished to allow continuous operation. Fuel cells bear significant resemblance to electrolyzers. In fact, some fuel cells operate in reverse as electrolyzers, yielding a reversible fuel cell that can be used for energy storage. Though fuel cells could, in principle, process a wide variety of fuels and oxidants, of most interest today are those fuel cells that use common fuels (or their derivatives) or hydrogen as a reductant, and ambient air as the oxidant. Most fuel cell power systems comprise a number of components: Unit cells, in which the