DEVELOPMENT OF LOW-COST MANUFACTURING PROCESSES FOR PLANAR, MULTILAYER SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL ELEMENTS

This report summarizes the results of a four-year project, entitled, ''Low-Cost Manufacturing Of Multilayer Ceramic Fuel Cells'', jointly funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the State of Ohio, and by project participants. The project was led by NexTech Materials, Ltd., with subcontracting support provided by University of Missouri-Rolla, Michael A. Cobb & Co., Advanced Materials Technologies, Inc., Edison Materials Technology Center, Gas Technology Institute, Northwestern University, and The Ohio State University. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, though not formally a subcontractor on the program, supported the effort with separate DOE funding. The objective of the program was to develop advanced manufacturing technologies for making solid oxide fuel cell components that are more economical and reliable for a variety of applications. The program was carried out in three phases. In the Phase I effort, several manufacturing approaches were considered and subjected to detailed assessments of manufacturability and development risk. Estimated manufacturing costs for 5-kW stacks were in the range of $139/kW to $179/kW. The risk assessment identified a number of technical issues that would need to be considered during development. Phase II development work focused on development of planar solid oxide fuel cell elements, using a number of ceramic manufacturing methods, including tape casting, colloidal-spray deposition, screen printing, spin-coating, and sintering. Several processes were successfully established for fabrication of anode-supported, thin-film electrolyte cells, with performance levels at or near the state-of-the-art. The work in Phase III involved scale-up of cell manufacturing methods, development of non-destructive evaluation methods, and comprehensive electrical and electrochemical testing of solid oxide fuel cell materials and components