June 19, 2012: New Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Achieves Record Efficiency
RICHLAND, Wash. — Individual homes and neighborhoods could be powered with a new, small-scale solid oxide fuel cell system that achieves up to 57 percent efficiency, significantly higher than the 30 to 50 percent efficiencies previously reported for other solid oxide fuel cell systems of its size, according to a study published by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).
The system, which was developed by PNNL, uses methane, the primary component of natural gas, as its fuel. The entire system was streamlined to make it more efficient and scalable by using PNNL-developed microchannel technology in combination with processes called external steam reforming and fuel recycling. PNNL’s system includes fuel cell stacks developed earlier with the support of DOE’s Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance.