Sofcroll development at St. Andrews Fuel Cells

St Andrews Fuel Cells is a recent high temperature solid oxide fuel cell spin-out company from the University of St Andrews, incorporated in February 2005. The company was set up for the development and optimisation of a patented design: the SOFCRoll (1). The unique self supporting geometry eliminates the need for thick support components, improving the fuel cell power density. Early development activities are focussed on sub-kW transportable and back-up fuel cell technology applications. A major target for the commercialization of SOFCs is a reduction in the cost. The SOFCRoll design achieves this objective by utilising a cheap production technique of tape easting, and the co-firing of all the fuel cell components. In order to prevent cracking, de-lamination and warping of components, the shrinkage profile of each component must be carefully matched and a lot of research has therefore centred on co-sintering of fuel cell components (2). Current materials used in the SOFCRoll are the standard LSM cathode, YSZ electrolyte and Ni/YSZ anode. Due to the reaction of LSM and YSZ at the high temperatures required for densification of the YSZ electrolyte, A-site deficient LSM and careful tailoring of processing parameters is required to eliminate the formation undesirable phases, whilst maintaining matching shrinkage profiles (3). Performance tests have demonstrated the achievement of good seals, whilst on-going modifications are yielding promising improvements in current densities. This paper gives an overview of the progress SOFCRoll development and on-going developmental areas.