Lightweight, Fuel Flexible Solid Oxide Fuel Cells for eVTOL Power System

Electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircrafts are the emerging technology that is expected to revolutionize transportation industry. Agility Prime, a program launched by the Air Force is seeking to accelerate the commercial market for advanced air mobility vehicles. While Li-ion battery is the leading candidate to power these aircrafts, the drawbacks of the battery technology warrant research into alternatives. These drawbacks of the battery technology include low energy density, long recharging time, and possible thermal runaway. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) are high efficiency devices that can utilize various fuels. As the fuels are stored separate from the fuel cell device, the fuel refilling times are considerably shorter. In addition, as air the oxidant for the fuel cell reaction, compared to a battery, half the reactant is not carried onboard. OxEon Energy has addressed the challenges of robustness of the SOFC devices under a NASA funded program to develop a solid oxide based electrolysis unit to generate oxygen on Mars. The device delivered by the OxEon team is on its way to Mars after going through a variety of space flight qualification testing. In the proposed work, performance improvement and fuel flexibility will be demonstrated by the use of an advanced cell architecture and a fuel catalyst. Successful outcome of the project will result in a prototype for validation testing at an Air Force laboratory.