High Efficiency Direct Methane Solid Oxide Fuel Cell System

NASA has a defined need for energy dense and highly efficient energy storage and power delivery systems for future space missions. Compared to other fuel cell technologies, solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) based systems are better suited to meeting NASA's efficiency targets while operating directly on methane and oxygen reactants. SOFC power systems for lunar landers and other exploration vehicles are an ideal application for this technology, as well as for power generation on the moon or on Mars. NexTech Materials has established SOFC technology that offers high power density with direct internal fuel reforming and high single-pass fuel utilization, making it uniquely suited for achieving NASA's performance and efficiency requirements. In this project, NexTech will establish a process model for an SOFC system that operates with oxygen and methane reactants, design a lightweight and high efficiency SOFC stack, refine the stack design via modeling and analysis, validate the design and performance predictions via stack testing.