Distribution of solid oxide fuel cell commercialization is imperative

On August 20, Bosch and Xilisi signed a cooperation license agreement and the two sides will jointly develop the next generation of solid oxide fuel cell(SOFC) technology. In addition, the two sides also signed a share purchase agreement. Bosch plans to acquire # 7.7 million to acquire a 4 % stake in Xilisi.

Coincidentally, Weichai Power also announced on May 16 that it had invested more than 40 million pounds to subscribe for some of the newly issued shares of CeresPower. After the subscription was completed, the shareholding ratio reached 20 %, and CeresPower established a joint venture in Weifang, China. The company has fully cooperated in the field of solid oxide fuel cells.

It is understood that Ceres Power is a low-cost solid oxide fuel cell developer. Its strategy is to commercialize its technology through mass production of batteries with partners and to use it for grid and distributed power generation, with the aim of using solid oxide fuel cells for use in cities, factories and data centres, and to supply electricity for charging points for electric vehicles.

Solid OxideFuelCell(SOFC) belongs to the third-generation fuel cell and is a all-solid chemical power generation device that directly converts chemical energy stored in fuels and oxidants into electrical energy at medium to high temperatures. It is generally considered to be a fuel cell that will be widely used in the future as a proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC).

From the frequent cooperation between domestic and foreign companies and Ceres Power, the commercialization of solid oxide fuel cells in the future is imperative.

Differences between solid oxide fuel cells and proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFC) use solid polymers as electrolytes, porous carbon containing platinum or platinum alloy catalysts as electrodes, hydrogen as fuel, and therefore also known as hydrogen fuel cells. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells are mainly used in transportation and some fixed applications. They are currently the mainstream technology route for fuel cell automotive power. However, due to the large amount of platinum precious metal catalysts and the high cost of proton exchange membranes, the production cost remains high and the status is challenged by solid oxide fuel cells.

The solid oxide fuel cell belongs to the new generation of fuel cell technology. It uses solid Ionic conductors as electrolytes and has about 60 % conversion efficiency. It can use a variety of fuels, such as natural gas, biogas, gas, methane, etc., and has a strong adaptability to fuel.; It can be used for fixed power stations, home power sources, ship power, automotive power, spacespecial and many other fields. Due to the use of all-solid battery structure, corrosion and electrolyte loss caused by the use of liquid electrolytes are avoided, and anti-sulfur is strong. It is a promising technical route in the future.

Foreign fuel cell technology routes

With the promotion of hydrogen fuel vehicles, the development of fuel cells has gained increasing momentum. Due to the high production cost of proton exchange membrane fuel cells, foreign companies and research institutes are more inclined to carry out the design and testing of solid oxide fuel cell power stations. The United States and the United Kingdom have led the way in continuing to invest huge sums of money in this area, nurturing companies such as Bloom Energy and CelesPower to develop solid-oxide fuel cells.

In February, Bloom Energy announced that it had signed a contract with Korea South East Korea Power Company(`` KOEN ") to install Bloom Energy's clean power system in the 8350 kW unit of Bundang Power Plant. The project uses solid oxide fuel cell technology to generate electricity to meet various electricity needs that require uninterrupted power supply locations, such as data centres, manufacturing operations, communications and energy-intensive facilities. This is South Korea's first case of industrial and commercial solid oxide fuel cell(SOFC) installation.

In August, Ceres Power first worked with Nissan to develop a compact, high-power, solid-oxide fuel cell to expand the range of light electric commercial vehicles. This project involves commercial vehicles, which is one of the most challenging aspects of decarbonization in the transportation system and is of demonstration significance for other automotive applications. In response to the UK government's "RoadtoZero" strategy of drastically reducing carbon dioxide emissions, it received # 8M in funding from the British government.

At the same time, Ceres Power and Bosch established a cooperative relationship in the field of solid oxide fuel cells and jointly developed the next generation of solid oxide fuel cell(SOFC) technology. The new technology is aimed at building small power stations for cities and industrial areas. The goal of the power station is that a solid oxide fuel cell module can generate 10 kilowatts(kW) of electricity. In the case of large electricity demand, any output power battery module can be connected to each other..

From this, it can be seen that foreign governments and companies are investing heavily in solid oxide fuel cell technology this year.

Domestic development lag is trying to catch up

Solid oxide fuel cell technology is very important for the environmentally friendly process of the coal industry and the energy industry, so it is widely used as a strategic reserve technology in developed countries around the world. Professor Hanminfang of Tsinghua University said that compared with foreign countries, the development of China's solid oxide fuel cell industry is far behind, and the country's investment is far less than foreign countries.

But this year some big companies began to deploy solid oxide fuel cells, starting the "icebreaker" exploration.

On May 16, Weichai Power announced a # 40 million acquisition of a 20 % stake in the UK's Ceres Power to enter the solid oxide fuel cell market. The two sides will jointly develop a 30 kWSteelCell? powered by CNG. Fuel cell, used for the extended range system of electric passenger cars, is expected to complete verification in the first half of 2019.

At the same time, Weichai Power joined hands with CeresPower to establish a joint venture company in Weifang, China, to promote the commercialization of solid oxide fuel cell technology in the Chinese market. Ceres Power will use SteelCell? to license the joint venture exclusively in the Chinese market. Technology, production and marketing of fuel cell systems, power reactors and battery chips, applied to passenger cars, trucks and specific power generation markets.

On August 2, the Jin Coal Group Coal Chemical Research Institute announced that they had built the country's first coal based 15kW solid oxide fuel cell(SOFC) project in the fuel cell laboratory of the Tianxi Coal Production Branch of the Jin Coal Group. Open the entire process, The demonstration of coal gasification and power generation through solid oxide fuel cell was realized. This is the first coal-based solid oxide fuel cell demonstration project to be shipped in China. The ultimate goal of the project is to establish an overall SOFC demonstration project based on coal.

Taken together, China has made great progress in research and development of solid oxide fuel cells, but there are still many practical applications and basic research problems that have not been properly solved and far below the requirements of commercialization.

In the face of technological backwardness, in addition to expecting the state to increase its investment efforts, the relevant enterprises themselves should also make a difference. In addition to focusing on the difficulties, they may also be able to make a move to Wei Chai's dynamics -- to invest in foreign capital and introduce advanced technology. Slowly in the solid oxide fuel cell field to achieve the quality change from the chase to anti-super abroad.

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