Highly Efficient, Lightweight, High Temperature Blower for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

Long-endurance unmanned vehicle (UV) and munition systems require lightweight, compact, and efficient power systems. Advanced fuel cells are promising technologies that can be used for both primary propulsion and auxiliary power units for these applications. A lightweight, high temperature, efficient cathode blower is a critical component to enable a compact SOFC power unit to achieve the high specific power and low specific fuel consumption requirements for long-endurance UVs. We propose to develop a reliable, lightweight, highly efficient blower that can meet the OSD’s challenging performance specifications. The miniature, efficient blower will reduce the take-off weight of UVs and increase their endurance. The innovative blower will be built using Creare’s proven high-speed micro turbomachinery technologies. In Phase I we will prove the feasibility of our approach by modeling performance of the blower and performing proof-of-concept tests. In Phase II we will build and test the blowers and deliver prototype systems for testing in relevant environments.