NTT develops efficient and durable SOFC

The Energy and Environmental Systems Laboratories of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT) claim to have developed a solid-oxide fuel cell that is both highly energy-efficient and durable.

By improving the cell structure and the way unspent gas fuel is recovered and reused, NTT has developed a 1kw-class unit from a stack of 50 cells that generates power with an energy efficiency of 54 per cent and can operate for 1,000 hours. A smaller stack of 30 cells can operate with the same energy efficiency for 3,500 hours.

NTT have used a lanthanum-nickel-iron oxide compound for the air electrode to improve overall performance, which has allowed the company to fashion the cells in large diameters of 12cm.

To further boost efficiency, NTT have inserted a tube inside the cell to recover unused fuel. If the amount of fuel used to generate power can be raised to about 80 per cent, it would lift the fuel cell's energy efficiency above 60 per cent.

NTT plans to continue working to improve the cell, aiming within two to five years to have a version that can operate stably for tens of thousands of hours.

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Source: Fuel Cell Today