Development of Low-Cost Alloy Supported SOFCs

The LBNL group has been developing ferritic steel supported solid oxide fuel cells. The use of ferritic steel as a support for electrode supported solid oxide fuel cells greatly reduces the raw materials cost and improves the strength of the thin-film cells. The basic design includes the use of a high-strength FeCr support, a thin interlayer electrode (Ni-YSZ or other), and a thin electrolyte film. The entire structure is fabricated through co-firing of the three layers in a reducing environment. This paper describes the preliminary performance of the metal supported cells, as well as a variety of possible interlayer electrodes.