Open Competition 5 - Electronics and Photonics

Small, Ultra Efficient Fuel Cell Systems

Sponsor: Technology Management, Inc.

• Project Performance Period: 6/1/2002 - 11/30/2005
• Total project (est.): $2,859,706.00
• Requested ATP funds: $1,770,063.00

Technology Management, Inc. (TMI) plans a three-year project to design and demonstrate an affordable solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system using a multi-stage concept to achieve ultra-high (70 percent) fuel to electricity efficiency in system sizes starting at 1 kilowatt. Multiple systems could be combined for higher power outputs with the same performance advantages. The key innovation will be the demonstration of "progressive oxidation" stacks, which maximizes efficiency by approaching 100 percent electrochemical fuel utilization (compared to about 75 percent in conventional systems). The overall challenge is to optimize high fuel use and high cell voltages with affordable costs and reliability, and to develop large, high-temperature seals to prevent efficiency-sapping stack leakage. Once developed, the stacks will be incorporated into a relatively simple, low-cost fuel cell system design that could reduce electricity costs 20 percent below targets for current SOFC designs. In addition, the very low system emissions make it among the "greenest" of all fossil-fuel-powered technologies for making electricity. ATP funding will accelerate new stack technology development by at least three or four years. The resulting high-performance SOFC systems, besides helping to meet the world's growing power needs, will save billions of dollars in fuel costs, substantially reduce emissions of "greenhouse" gases, and create thousands of jobs over the next 20 years. Increasing concerns about global warming and rising fuel prices are creating a demand for highly efficient electric power generation, especially distributed systems, as an alternative to often-overloaded and unreliable power grids. Fuel cells promise to meet this need; however existing designs emphasize large-scale systems with limited operating efficiencies. A smaller-scale TMI system operating at higher efficiency could widen the range of practical applications for many homes, small businesses, and remote power applications.

For project information:

Benson P. Lee, (216) 541-1000
tmi@stratos.net

ATP Project Manager

Gerald Castellucci, (301) 975-2435
gerald.castellucci@nist.gov