SBIR Phase I: One Step Flash-Sintering of Multilayer Structures for SOFC Below 1000°C: a New Manufacturing Paradigm for Commercial Viability

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate the commercial potential of flash-sintering to enhance the manufacturability and performance of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs). The co-sintering of heterogeneous multilayer ceramics remains a technical barrier to the commercialization of SOFCs for two reasons: 1) the materials for the multilayer structure require different processing temperatures, which can hinder optimum material selection, and 2) batch style manufacturing techniques are expansive and have low throughput. Flash-sintering can address both of these technical issues by lowering the sintering temperatures and reducing the processing times. These advances will in turn permit: a) the use of higher-performing low-temperature cathode materials, b) single-step sintering, c) a change in the manufacturing protocol from batch to continuous, d) significant reduction in manufacturing energy consumption, and, e) the use of lower-cost tooling materials due to reduced processing temperatures. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be to significantly enhance the commercial viability of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) technology. This will be done by improving manufacturing cost and performance of intermediate-temperature SOFCs. Improved cost will in turn enable greater proliferation of this environmentally-clean, high-efficiency power generation system, and when deployed, the concomitant reduction of greenhouse gases. The technique developed has broader impacts as a disruptive technology for the entire field of heterogeneous ceramic interfaces (for example: ceramic gas separation membranes, electrocatalysts, sensors, multilayer batteries, and metal-ceramic composites) by enabling new material combinations to be co-sintered. Finally, SOFCs are suitable for a wide range of fuels, including natural gas, allowing them flexibility in the constantly changing energy market. The size of SOFCs can range from a few kW to a few MW, suitable for all types of applications from powering homes and small businesses, to large-scale energy production.