Electrolyte supported cell designed for longer life and higher power
AssigneeBloom Energy Corporation
InventorsMatthias Gottmann, Dien Nguyen, Emad El Batawi, Tad Armstrong, Gonghou Wang, Darren Hickey
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Abstract
A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) includes a cathode electrode, an anode electrode, and a solid oxide electrolyte located between the anode electrode and the cathode electrode. The cathode electrode is a porous ceramic layer infiltrated with a cathode catalyst material, and the anode electrode is a porous ceramic layer infiltrated with an anode catalyst material, and the electrolyte is a ceramic layer having a lower porosity than the anode and the cathode electrodes. A ceramic reinforcing region may be located adjacent to the riser opening in the electrolyte.
Claims17
A method of making a solid oxide fuel cell, comprising:
- providing a structure comprising a porous first ceramic layer, a porous second ceramic layer and a third ceramic layer electrolyte having a lower porosity than the first and the second ceramic layers;
- infiltrating an anode electrode catalyst into the porous first ceramic layer to form an anode electrode;
- infiltrating a cathode electrode catalyst into the porous second ceramic layer to form a cathode electrode, wherein the cathode electrode comprises a different material from the anode electrode;
- folding a portion of the third ceramic layer over a peripheral portion of the porous first ceramic layer to form a seal which prevents interaction of fuel and air;
- and
- placing the solid oxide fuel cell in a stack in which adjacent solid oxide fuel cells are separated by electrically conducting interconnects, wherein the stack is configured for power generation.
A method of making a solid oxide fuel cell, comprising:
- providing a structure comprising a porous first ceramic layer, a porous second ceramic layer and a third ceramic layer electrolyte having a lower porosity than the first and the second ceramic layers, wherein at least one of the first, second and third ceramic layers comprises a doped ceria or a stabilized zirconia ceramic;
- infiltrating an anode electrode catalyst into the porous first ceramic layer to form an anode electrode;
- infiltrating a cathode electrode catalyst into the porous second ceramic layer to form a cathode electrode;
- filling a peripheral portion of the porous first ceramic layer with a glass seal material which prevents interaction between fuel and air;
- and
- placing the solid oxide fuel cell in a stack in which adjacent solid oxide fuel cells are separated by electrically conducting interconnects, wherein the stack is configured for power generation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.