Experimental Analysis of a 25 kWe Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Module for Co-generation of Hydrogen and Power

摘要

The hydrogen refueling station infrastructure is a critical bottleneck that should be addressed for the penetration of the fuel cell vehicles in the automotive sector. The EU co-funded project, "Co-generation of hydrogen, heat and power (CH2P)", aims to address this by developing a prototype for onsite hydrogen generation from methane rich gas using Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC). The prototype system will produce 25 kWe electric power and 20 kg of H_2/day. It consists of a large SOFC stack module along with necessary balance of plant components. An experimental analysis on the 25 kWe SOFC module is performed to aid the development of the prototype system. The study focuses on understanding the electrochemical performance of the stack towers within the stack module, thermal behavior, such as the temperature distribution among the stack towers and heat losses, and pressure drops.