solid oxide fuel cells - elcogen.com · reducing demand for centralised generation by large power...

Solid Oxide Fuel CellsOpportunities for a clean energy future

§ Tomorrow’s clean energy future will rely on the world’s most efficient energy transfer technology. Fuel cells are currently the world’s most efficient method of converting fuel to electricity.

§ Currently there is a range of fuel cell technologies offered by manufacturers, however solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are the market’s most efficient fuel cell technology.

§ Throughout modern history the hydrogen economy has been touted as a potential solution for decarbonising energy generation and consumption. Key challenges have prevented widespread use of hydrogen and fuel cell technology in key industrial, residential and transportation sectors, including: cost, materials and supporting infrastructure.

§ Fuel cells are increasingly being recognised as a solution in key sectors that must be decarbonised for economies to reach their emission reduction targets.

§ Fuel cells can be used to solve intermittency issues facing renewable energy generation. Through electrolysis, fuel cells can be used to convert excess power from solar and wind into hydrogen for long term storage – a key current challenge for renewables.

§ Solid oxide cells are the only technology allowing reversible operation, i.e. the same stack can be used in fuel cell and electrolysis mode.

§ Fuel cells also make residential and commercial combined heat and power (CHP) systems significantly more efficient, allowing twice the amount of power for the same amount of gas. Given the fact residential heating has long been recognised as a challenging sector to decarbonise, fuel cells-equipped micro-CHP units can drastically reduce this sector’s emissions.

§ Challenges remain in the widespread adoption of hydrogen and fuel cell technology, however fuel cell manufacturers continue to address issues around cost, scale and lifetimes.

§ While the fuel cell and hydrogen industry is subsidised in several markets, it is estimated that fuel cells, and in particular solid oxide fuel cells, will be competitive by 2022.

Executive Summary

2 Solid Oxide Fuel Cells: Opportunities for a clean energy future

Electricity generation is on the cusp of a paradigm shift. Distributed power generation, where energy is generated at the point of consumption, is gradually reducing demand for centralised generation by large power plants.

Fuel cells in particular have the potential to reshape how the world is powered, allowing efficient, clean, and reliable off grid energy generation. They can help us sharply reduce our use of polluting fuels, moving from coal to cleaner fuel sources, and eventually to renewably generated hydrogen. This could dramatically reduce the world’s fossil fuel use and associated emissions. The implications are huge for power distribution, for energy bills, and most importantly for the environment.

Much of the hype around fuel cells has focussed on Proton Exchange Membrane (PEMFCs), and these are indeed likely to be the most common fuel cell of the future, especially in fuel cell vehicles.

A second type of fuel cell – solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) – has received less attention. They have higher operating temperatures than PEMFCs, so are not suited to all applications. But they offer higher efficiencies and longer lifetimes, and their high temperature means they can reform fuel internally, so they can run on a wide variety of fuel sources including natural gas. Whereas other fuel cells require pure hydrogen as the fuel, SOFCs can produce electricity using existing gas transmission infrastructure, making them ideal for in-home or on-site electricity generation.

These are good reasons to take SOFCs seriously now, and indeed they are already reducing energy costs and emissions in many areas, usually with some form of subsidy. But the tipping point will come when SOFCs reach a price point where lifetime savings on electricity bills offset the upfront investment in the SOFC system.

Efficiency and lifetime of SOFCs are good and improving, and manufacturing costs are coming down. High temperatures of 850–1000°C are the main commercial barrier, since they require expensive materials for manufacture, and more energy for operation. Current high temperature designs will be hard to sustain without subsidies.

However a new generation of SOFCs is emerging, taking advantages of materials and chemical innovations, which allow temperatures to be reduced to 650°C as well as improving efficiency. This will soon cut overall costs of SOFCs to a point where they are competitive with other energy sources. Our projections are that SOFCs that can compete on an open market will be available as soon as 2022.

This paper will explore how SOFCs will reshape the world we live in, and discuss how the challenges can be overcome to achieve this benefit.

The tipping point will come when SOFCs reach a price point where lifetime savings on electricity bills offset the upfront investment in the SOFC system.

Introduction


Fuels cells will be a major driver of distributed power, allowing homes and businesses to create their energy efficiently, as and when they need it.

This has many potential advantages: fuel cells produce little or no emissions; fuel is converted to energy much more efficiently than in power stations so fuel costs (and energy bills) are reduced; and they offer energy security where supply is intermittent.

From a societal point of view, fuel cells can move us away from our dependence on polluting fuels, firstly from coal to cleaner natural gas and biofuels, and eventually to hydrogen. Small fuel cell power generation units have very low capital requirements compared to power stations, and can be rolled out at a pace to match changing energy needs.

Alongside the growth of renewable energy, fuel cells will play a key role in ending the world’s reliance on fossil fuels, and helping meet the emissions targets set by the Paris Climate Agreement.

The role of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) have a major role to play in energy decentralisation by producing clean, quiet, and efficient energy, especially in stationary power generation.

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells are the most efficient type of fuel cell, with fuel to electricity conversion efficiencies consistently over 60 per cent (Elcogen’s SOFC stack holds the world record of 74 per cent). If the waste heat they produce is also harnessed, e.g. by feeding it into central heating systems, their overall fuel efficiency can be over 90 per cent.

Like all fuel cells, SOFCs create energy from hydrogen – which is an energy carrier. But SOFCs’ high temperature allows them to internally reform hydrocarbon fuels into hydrogen – a process optimally carried out at 650°C. They can therefore be powered by fuels such as methane, propane and diesel and a variety of gaseous and liquid biofuels. PEM fuel cells require pure hydrogen.

Electricity is produced through an electrochemical process which captures almost all of the energy stored in hydrogen atoms. Electrochemical conversion is very different to combustion – used in petrol cars and coal power stations – which releases energy by burning the fuel. Burning results in much of the energy floating off into the atmosphere, alongside the CO2, NOx and volatile organic compound (VOC) created in the process.

As fossil fuels deplete and become harder to extract, fuel cells can also improve energy security by allowing a wider choice of fuels to be used, and making existing fuels go further.

Electricity is produced through an electrochemical process which captures almost all of the energy stored in hydrogen atoms.

1 How fuel cells can change the world


As the production of hydrogen from renewable sources becomes viable (see Producing Hydrogen box on page 9), they can become partly or entirely powered by hydrogen: the world’s first storable fuel with zero carbon emissions.

In the long term, higher efficiencies should mean SOFCs become the first fuel cells to outcompete many forms of fossil fuel based power generation.

In the short to medium term, their ability to use existing fuel infrastructure, such as the natural gas pumped into most of the world’s homes, makes them a suitable transition technology. Whilst natural gas does not offer the zero CO2 emissions hydrogen future we ultimately aspire to, it is much more environmentally friendly than coal and oil, especially when converted electrochemically. Some research is looking into adding hydrogen to our existing gas supply, reducing emissions further. At the time of writing, natural gas is also cheap and abundant.

There are still challenges to overcome. The initial outlay for SOFCs does not yet offset the lifetime savings, so they are only commercially viable where lowering emissions is more important than cost, or where subsidies exist.

But like wind and solar, with support and innovation, SOFCs will rapidly come down in price as performance, materials and manufacturing processes are improved. This next generation of SOFCs will become a vital part of the near future’s energy mix.

Applications

SOFCs are already finding wide ranging applications: delivering environmental and economic benefits within transport, industrial equipment, cooling, power, disaster relief and similar applications where grid power is not available.

1. Stationary generation/Combined Heat and Power

SOFCs are well suited to stationary power generation for homes and businesses. Their high temperatures make them particularly efficient for Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems, as waste heat can be put to good use for heating and cooling.

An in-home micro-CHP system would replace the boiler to become a single power source, removing the need to buy electricity from the grid. Its fuel cell would produce electric power from gas pumped into the home, while using waste heat for heating or cooling. Excess energy can be sold back to the grid. Larger scale systems can also be used at a whole building level, or for industrial applications from powering entire factories to keeping machinery cool.

Considerable power is saved by CHP over centralised power generation and separate heat generation. Fuel cells offer more efficient energy conversion than power stations (since fuel is chemically converted) and eliminate energy losses that occur when electricity travels over power lines (unlike electricity, gas is transported into homes without significant energy losses).


This can reduce bills. In the UK gas costs around 4p per kilowatt hour at the time of writing. If we can convert it to electricity at 60 per cent efficiency, it will cost 6p per kWh to generate electricity in the home. This compares to around 14p per kWh if bought directly from the grid1. A medium size house will use around 3200kWh of electricity a year, so this would represent a saving of £256 per year. Further savings can also be made on gas bills as CHP will also provide heating.

Good quality CHP powered by a fuel cell could also reduce CO2 emissions by 43 per cent compared to running from the grid, according to the The UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association2.

There is no reason not to be ambitious. A report sponsored by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking says: “Gas-fuelled fuel cell CHPs can potentially supply heat and power to every building with a connection to the gas grid.”3

2. Transport

Fuel cells can power vehicles with as little as zero tailpipe emissions (if we use renewably produced hydrogen), whereas a petrol engine produces 130g/km of CO2.

Fuel cells are already being used in large fleets where extensive use helps offset the initial capital cost, and where fuelling services can be managed at a central depot. They have found uses in ships, buses and even aircraft (so far only for taxiing, though fuel cell powered planes are in development). Whilst PEMFCs are likely to be the fuel cell of choice for cars, SOFCs are finding uses in larger vehicles and as range extenders for battery electric vehicles, converting fuels such as ethanol into electricity which can charge the car battery even when driving and avoid the need for time-consuming battery charging from power outlets..

3. Hydrogen production

SOFCs can operate in reverse mode, as a Solid Oxide Electrolyser Cell (SOEC), turning energy and water back into hydrogen. By using the energy from renewables when they are not feeding into the grid, fuel cells can run in reverse, producing hydrogen gas through electrolysis. Hydrogen allows a huge amount of energy to be stored for long periods, so the energy from the sun could be used in summer to create hydrogen, which becomes a fuel source in winter.

SOECs are the most efficient means of electrolysis, and can electrolyse water to hydrogen at close to 100 per cent efficiency.

1. Rounded figures based on Energy Saving Trust estimates, May 2017 http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/about-us/our-calculations 2. http://www.ukhfca.co.uk/the-industry/benefits/ 3. Advancing Europe’s energy systems: Stationary fuel cells in distributed generation http://www.fch.europa.eu/sites/default/files/FCHJU_FuelCellDistributedGenerationCommercialization_0.pdf


Hydrogen is an energy carrier. When it reacts with oxygen to form water, energy is released. By carefully controlling this reaction, we can capture that energy and use it productively.

Fuel cells have three main components arranged in layers: the anode, the electrolyte and the cathode.

Hydrogen (H2) is fed into the anode side. An electrochemical reaction at the anode strips electrons from the hydrogen molecules. These electrons pass through a circuit to the cathode, creating the flow of electricity which can be used as a power source.

Oxygen (O2) is fed into the cathode side of the fuel cell, on which oxygen is reduced to oxygen ions. Oxygen ions transfer via electrolyte to the anode, on which oxygen ions oxidise hydrogen into H2O.

SOFCs have a ceramic electrolyte which must be heated to the point where it becomes ionically conductive. The temperature at which this happens depends on the material chemistry, and can range from 600°C to over 1000°C.

Such designs have several advantages. The higher temperature improves the reactions, without the need for expensive platinum catalysts. And the waste heat can be used for other applications.

There are however some disadvantages to the high temperature: the cells and stacks take longer to start up, and they must be constructed of heat-resistant materials, which can add cost, though research is now finding ways to reduce this.

How do SOFCs work?


The early days

Sir William Grove demonstrated the first hydrogen fuel cell, which produced electrical energy by combining hydrogen and oxygen, in London in the 1830s.

Over a century later, the first practical applications started to appear. In the 1950s scientists at the General Electric Company (GE) alongside NASA and McDonnell Aircraft developed fuel cell technology that was used by the U.S. space program to supply electricity and drinking water to astronauts.

In 1966, General Motors developed the first fuel cell road vehicle, the Chevrolet Electrovan. The project was deemed cost-prohibitive and dropped. Several manufacturers subsequently experimented with Fuel Cell Electric vehicles in the 1970s, increasing the power density of stacks and developing hydrogen fuel storage.

Technical and commercial development continued in the 1980s, notably in Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cells (PAFC), though excitement around the technology failed to transfer into commercial success.

Breakthroughs begin

In the 1990s PEMFC and SOFC technology became the new areas of focus, particularly for stationary applications. These offered lower cost and more applications, such as backup power and micro-CHP, and attracted government funding. SOFCs in particular vastly improved in power density and durability. The introduction of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate in California prompted carmakers to invest in PEMFC research.

Many fuel cell companies listed on stock exchanges in the late 1990s, only to fall victim to the technology crash.

Commercialisation and hard won lessons

The 21st century saw ever greater concern about energy security and climate change. Government and private funding for fuel cell research, as well as subsidies in some countries, increased as a result.

In the last decade the industry has begun to see commercially viable fuel cells. A large-scale residential CHP programme in Japan – known as Ene-Farm – has had about 200,000 fuel cell units installed. Demonstration programmes for backup power systems in the USA gave the industry a boost, as did off-grid stationary power demand in developing countries and for disaster relief. Germany recently began a subsidy programme similar to Japan’s.

2 A history of fuel cells

Sir William Grove

GM Electrovan

Ene-Farm, Japan


Fuel cell vehicles have come on apace thanks to research starting in the 1970s. Many fuel cell buses have been deployed in the last decade and fuel cells are widely used in fork lift trucks and materials handling vehicles. Achieving price parity with petrol and diesel vehicles, and EVs, is taking time and money, and has seen several false starts. However in recent years major manufacturers including Honda, Daimler, and Toyota have developed commercially available Fuel Cell cars, which can be leased or purchased in some parts of the world. London’s RV1 bus route is now powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

It is not all smooth sailing. Initial market excitement has fizzled out. Of the eight fuel cell companies listed in the UK 11 years ago, there are now two and their share price is down. Recent industry setbacks have seen fuel cell job losses for a number of companies. Despite the promise, capital costs remain high and commercial viability relies on subsidies for the time being.

Despite some false starts and early industry optimism proving overblown, real progress is now being made. Major PEMFC manufacturers including Ballard and Hydrogenics all showed that big orders were up in the last year. Elcogen has an order book for its SOFCs that will require scaling up production 100 fold in the next few years. The industry now has efficient viable fuel cells in proven applications. The challenge now is reducing cost of production to a point where they can compete with other energy sources in an open market.

By supplying current to the fuel cell, you can make the electrochemical process run in reverse, splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, a process called electrolysis. This requires considerable energy to be put back into the system.

If we use fossil fuels to generate this energy, we are no greener than if we use fossil fuels to power our homes. However the great benefit of hydrogen is that once produced, it can be easily stored. This means we can use waste energy to produce hydrogen and store it for when we need it.

This overcomes the biggest problem with renewables. Wind and solar only produce energy when the weather is right, which may not be when people need it.

This means much renewable energy is wasted and many potential wind sites aren’t developed. But if this spare energy could be used to produce hydrogen, which can be sold and used when needed, it hugely increases the value of renewables, making them more viable and more profitable, whilst the resulting hydrogen eases demand on the grid.

Other zero or low carbon sources are also being investigated to generate hydrogen without electrolysis such as using energy directly from the sun to split water.

Hydrogen is unique in that it can produce energy with zero emissions and can be easily stored and used as required.

Producing hydrogen

Honda Clarity

London RV1 bus


The fuel cell market remains a tough place. While the technology is proven to work, the biggest hurdle is to reduce production and operating costs to offer competitive pricing of fuel cell technology, and thereby capitalise on their superior energy conversion.

Subsidies can help us get there but to become viable, fuel cells must eventually become cost-effective without subsidies. To do so, they must overcome three main hurdles:

1. Offer efficiencies higher than fossil fuels2. Last long enough that initial outlay is more than recovered in

energy savings3. Be purchasable at a cost that is acceptable to consumers

Efficiencies

SOFCs are already the most efficient fuel cell and are much more efficient than fossil fuels. Taking Elcogen’s fuel cell stack as an example, 74 per cent of the energy stored in the fuel would be converted to electricity. Most of the rest becomes heat, which can be productively used.

4. Advancing Europe’s energy systems: Stationary fuel cells in distributed generation

Level of severity: Low Medium Medium-to-high HighLow-to-medium

Economic barriers – High initial investment and high TCO/LCOE– High cost of stack replacement (re-investment for customer)– Limited availability of financing models to overcome cost hurdle

Technical barriers – Inadequate stack durability and system design life– Lack of robustness and insufficient reliability of stacks– High degradation rate and resulting efficiency losses

Supply chain barriers – Narrow, specialised supplier base, lack of robustness and options for alternative sourcing– Lack of financial and human resources– Lacking standardisation (e.g component design)

Market access barriers – Existing laws and regulation (especially on FiT)– Red tape on essential preconditions for market access– Lack of awareness of technology among decision makers

Acceptance barriers – Overall lack of awareness for stationery cells– Lack of knowledge and trust in new brands in the industry– Safety concerns associated with fuel cells (e.g on H2)

Regulatory hurdles – Uncertainty regarding eco-labelling (e.g ErP classification) – Overall complexity of grid tie-in regulation, gas-grid standards, public support schemes etc.– Adverse effects of existing policies (esp. EEG in Germany)

Major barriers to commercialisation for stationary fuel cells and their severity4

3 The challenges


Coal, on the other hand, is about 30 per cent efficient, with transmission loss at about 7–8 per cent.5 Although coal itself is a good store of energy, the processes of burning it, using the steam to turn turbines to create electricity, and transporting it into homes, means most energy is lost.

There is always room for improvement through more R&D and ever better designs, but in terms of efficiency, fuel cells are already one of the best options.

Lifetime

Compared to other fuel cells, SOFCs generally offer the best stability and reliability due to an all-solid-state ceramic construction.

Current commercial SOFC systems have a lifetime of 30,000-40,000 hours, or roughly four years assuming continuous operation, though test units have operated in excess of 10 years with acceptable performance.

These are viable for some applications, where there are subsidies. The European Commission’s Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCHJU) maintains that fuel cell systems must achieve a lifetime of least 10 years to meet commercial demand. This requires improving the lifetime of the materials.

High temperatures speed up corrosion and degradation of cell components over time, so reducing operating temperature is crucial to slowing down these processes and increasing lifetime. Optimising material design and improving the heat treatments used to toughen materials to improve durability also have a role to play.

Cost

The main barrier to commercialisation is the upfront cost of purchasing the fuel cell system (e.g. the micro-CHP unit). The high operating temperatures of SOFCs require highly durable materials, which are currently expensive.

A typical 700W micro-CHP system currently retails at around €12,000 6, equivalent to around €17,000 per kW. The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking estimates that a 30 per cent reduction in manufacturing costs would make SOFC solutions competitive for widespread market adoption. This would mean a system retail price of ~€11,500, stack price of €5,000 and cell price at €15).7

Considerable R&D is going into reducing costs of production, including:

§ Improved materials chemistry: Many commercially available ceramics are not sufficiently efficient for SOFCs. R&D is required to manipulate these materials, optimising surface area, porosity, and thermal properties. This will improve cellular performance and allow new designs which can perform electrochemical processes at lower operating temperatures.

5. http://www.powermag.com/who-has-the-worlds-most-efficient-coal-power-plant-fleet6. In Japan, a 700W Aisin system with a Kyocera stack sells for 1.425m Yen (€12,000/€17,100/kW) (Osaka Gas Co. Ltd. press release, 24.2.2016). Solid Power charges €25,000 (€16,700/kW) 7. Advancing Europe’s energy systems: Stationary fuel cells in distributed generation. 2015

High temperatures speed up corrosion and degradation of cell components over time, so reducing operating temperature is crucial to slowing down these processes and increasing lifetime.


§ Decreasing cell thickness: Major reductions in cell thickness would reduce material consumption. Using sophisticated techniques, which allow material layers to be built atom by atom, will allow much greater control of material composition, and therefore open the possibility of thinner materials with the same properties. It also allows protective film barriers to be introduced which are a few atoms thick, to improve lifetime and performance. Use of new materials and designs which allow lower operating temperatures also make thinner cells more viable.

§ Practical generation requires stacks of hundreds of cells, so a reduction of 40 per cent thickness would amount to significant reduction in material consumption and associated cost.

§ Automation: Once a fuel cell is developed at a commercially viable cost, manufacturing processes need to be developed to optimise production and further reduce manufacturing costs.

With further research into cell electrochemistry, materials science, and ceramic processing, costs can be brought down within a matter of years by lowering materials costs and operating temperatures. With time, scale, and growing consumer buy in, fuel cells will come down in price. A changing energy landscape which sees fossil fuels rise in price will also help.

Power conversion technology Features

Lifetime (hours)

System price/kW

Micro-gas turbines, diesel engines

Established technology. But low electrical efficiency and a lot of unused waste heat. High pollution levels (NOx and solid particles for diesel engines. CO2 for all, though less so for micro-gas turbines). High maintenance costs. Noisy.

100,000+ 1500 – 3000

PEM fuel cells Use less primary fuel. PEM most established but can only use hydrogen, which still has very limited availability and have insufficient lifetime for stationary applications. Very low maintenance costs. Virtually no harmful emissions.

10,000 6000

SOFC based on electrolyte supported cells

System electrical efficiency of 50–55% and a combined efficiency in co-generation of 90%. Can use existing gas infrastructure and tolerate some impurities. Operating temperatures too high > high stack and system costs. Poor lifetime-cost trade-off.

30–40,000 6000 – 10000

Elcogen 2nd gen ASC based SOFC

Higher electrical efficiency than other SOFCs and potential for lower operating temperature. Up to 22% lower cost for stack and system producers, compared with best-performing ASC peers.

50–60,000 5000

Elcogen 3rd gen ASC based SOFC

Another 15% gain in electrical efficiency compared with 2nd generation cells > 10% lower stack costs because fewer cells are needed per stack, much longer lifetime.

90,000 (Phase 2)

4000

Fuel consumption

Elec

tric

al e

ffici

ency

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%


Fuel cells still need to make some progress before they reach price parity with other energy sources, but the goal of commercially viable fuel cells is in sight, particularly in stationary applications and CHP.

The SOFC market is small, with only a handful of companies offering full systems, all of which currently rely on subsidies. The market for operational fuel cell systems, current at the time of writing, is as follows:

§ Bloom Energy has sold the most SOFC systems, all to large companies. Their system design runs at high temperatures (850°C+) requiring expensive materials and interconnects, which add a lot of cost to the system. They rely on subsidies from US states to make money and it is hard to see how their design could be changed to be competitive with other energy sources without subsidies.

§ In Japan, thanks to the Ene-Farm project, there has been a large uptake of in-home micro-CHP using SOFCs, with systems largely manufactured by Aisin Seiki/Kyocera. These 700W systems are less powerful than US and European equivalents since Japan does not allow energy produced from natural gas to be sold back to the grid. They are a proven product with good performance and lifetimes, but the current stack design relies on expensive ceramics. Unless they can find more efficient design solutions, they will struggle to remain profitable without subsidies.

§ Hexis of Switzerland offers a fuel cell system for home heating – using similar technology to Bloom – which operates at high temperatures and requires expensive materials, making it expensive to build and run.

§ SOLIDpower, an Italian company which manufactures in Germany, produces the BlueGEN fuel cell, which is a technically good system producing 1.5kW output. They have considerable cost reduction and temperature reduction potential within their existing design, and could be successful in producing commercially viable fuel cell systems.

§ Finland’s Convion produces larger scale 50kW systems for commercial and industrial use. They are able to integrate different types of fuel cell stacks, allowing them to benefit from fuel cell innovation in lower temperature fuel cells.

Other companies are testing new innovations, but these are the only five with a commercial offer of complete SOFC systems at present. Since SOFCs hit the market it has become apparent that the only way to produce profitable systems which meet cost, efficiency and lifetime requirements is through lower operating temperatures. In our view, of the existing systems manufacturers, only SOLIDpower and Convion have the potential to become competitive on an open market, without reinventing themselves.

4 How close are we?


The potential

For those that get it right, the prize is substantial. The future fuel cell market has huge potential. Stratistics MRC estimate the overall fuel cell market to be worth around €23bn in 2024/258, with SOFC market valued at $2.6 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $4.9 billion by 2022. Global Market Insights put the market at $25.5 billion and SOFCs at $3 billion by 20249.

These are promising numbers, which suggest an industry on the verge of a commercial breakthrough.

But perhaps the bigger prize is the benefit to the world. Estimates of how much carbon fuel cells could save vary hugely depending on how the industry progresses and the enthusiasm from consumers, business and governments. But in theory there is no reason why most electricity and heating could not ultimately be produced by SOFC systems in our homes and businesses, powered by ever cleaner fuel sources, and ultimately carbon neutral hydrogen.

For the time being, the high cost of fuel cell technology – due to high operating temperatures – limits adoption to subsidised applications, or where the need for reliable clean power trumps cost drivers. But the potential is there. Much of the hard work has been done. The challenge now is to bring down costs, offering the holy trinity of unit cost, efficiency and durability – most of which will be achieved through bringing operating temperatures down to below 700°C.

SOFCs are where solar PV was 15 years ago. The technology is proven, it is efficient, and existing designs are viable for commercial use with subsidies. New designs which allow lower operating temperatures will improve costs, efficiency and lifetime in the next few years, creating systems which are commercially viable without subsidies – creating SOFC systems which are profitable for manufacturers and deliver a return on investment for consumers and businesses.

8. Fuel Cell Market Size – Industry Forecast Report, 2014 (2016), published by Global Market Insight Inc9. https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/fuel-cell-market

New designs which allow lower operating temperatures will improve costs, efficiency and lifetime in the next few years, creating systems which are commercially viable without subsidies.


Elcogen, a technology company based in Estonia and Finland, has developed SOFCs based on a proprietary patented design that operate at 650°C vs. 750–900°C for SOFC designs by competitors.

The lower operating temperature results in two key advantages: it allows for lower-cost materials to be used and for a more cost-efficient stack and CHP system design.

Crucially, these advantages of Elcogen stacks have delivered a world record in fuel conversion efficiency to electricity of 74 per cent. Elcogen stacks use: 50 per cent less fuel than conventional distributed power generation technologies (such as micro-gas turbines and diesel engines); emit 50 per cent less CO2 and near-zero NOx, SOx or VOC. Its technology therefore helps reduce natural gas consumption – and the associated greenhouse emissions – as well as reducing air pollutants.

Elcogen has identified a clear path to not only meet but exceed the cost target of €15 per cell for wide market adoption, suggested by the FCH 2 JU research organisation and reach mass production by 2020. By 2023 Elcogen expects to be able to produce cells at less than €5 each, making a high volume sales price of €8 per cell possible. Elcogen’s fuel cells will make clean micro-CHP systems of up to 5kW, affordable for consumers and commercial and industrial 10–500kW systems and hydrogen storage feasible for industry.

About Elcogen

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