Low Cost Materials, Designs, and Manufacturing Processes for Robust Tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC)

New power systems are needed for U.S. Army vehicles, to enhance fuel efficiency and reduce reliance on the fuel supply train. Solid-oxide fuel cell systems provide compelling advantages in fuel efficiency, fuel flexibility, and fuel impurity tolerance. The same fuel efficiency advantages provided to military applications, when extended to commercial vehicles, would have an enormous impact on fossil fuel consumption, pollution emissions, and transportation costs for the next century. Developmental programs are in place, but require new materials and new processing routes to achieve manufacturing cost and performance targets. The objective of this Phase I SBIR project is to develop low-cost materials and fabrication methods for producing tubular SOFCs while maintaining high mechanical strength, toughness, and electrochemical performance. The successful completion of this program will significantly improve tube manufacture for the Turbo Fuel Cell Engine. By tailoring the manufacturing process to provide consistent extrusion, drying and sintering performance, the resulting improvement in cell reproducibility and enhanced manufacturability will enable larger scale demonstration of the design. In addition, by focusing materials enhancement on the development of interchangeable interfacial layers, a compromise of demonstrated performance and design flexibility will be achieved.