SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL or SOFC

The electrolyte used in these cells is a non-porous metal oxide that is a good ion conductor, usually zirconium oxide stabilized with yttrium oxide. These cells operate between 900-1000 ° C, the temperature at which the ionic conduction of oxygen ions takes place. Normally, the anode is a mixture of ceramic and metal, Ni-ZrO2, and the cathode, a lanthanum manganite doped with strontium or selenium. Due to its high working temperature, as in the case of MCFCs, they can use the residual heat they generate in the process of reforming the fuel. The possibility of working with higher current density and without corrosion problems, compared to MCFCs, make them an interesting alternative and the most promising in high temperature fuel cells. The current challenge is to reduce the operating temperature in the range 600-800ºC (IT-SOFC, «Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cell») focusing the research on reducing the thickness of the electrolyte layer and in the search for new materials, based on lanthanide oxides or perovskite structure, which have high ionic conductivity at low temperature.