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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Characterization and Accelerated Life Testing of a New Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell

The project aims to develop mechanistic degradation models that realistically predict long-term Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell (SOEC) durability, using input data from accelerated electrochemical life testing combined with quantitative microstructural and microchemical evaluation. A promising SOEC type will be further developed. The understanding achieved by combining experimental results and theory will be used to guide improvements in long-term SOEC durability, and validate that this technology can reach DOE H 2 production cost and durability targets. Planned outcomes include: (1) new experimental accelerated testing data on SOEC degradation at the oxygen electrode, fuel electrode, and electrolyte; (2) predictive theory of degradation developed based on the accelerated test data; (3) new electrode materials and processing methods that minimize degradation rate; (4) determination of the impact of SOEC electrolyte thickness and electrode composition/microstructure on performance and degradation; (5) determination of the operating conditions where degradation is minimized; and (6) validation of degradation models for extrapolating accelerated test data to predict long-term durability.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2024

Optimization of Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell Systems Accounting for Long-Term Performance and Health Degradation

This study focuses on optimizing solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) systems for efficient and durable long-term hydrogen (H2) production. While the elevated operating temperatures of SOECs offer advantages in terms of efficiency, they also lead to chemical degradation, which shortens cell lifespan. To address this challenge, dynamic degradation models are coupled with a steady-state, two-dimensional, non-isothermal SOEC model and steady-state auxiliary balance of plant equipment models, within the IDAES modeling and optimization framework. A quasi-steady state approach is presented to reduce model size and computational complexity. Long-term dynamic simulations at constant H2 production rate illustrate the thermal effects of chemical degradation. Dynamic optimization is used to minimize the lifetime cost of H2 production, accounting for SOEC replacement, operating, and energy expenses. Several optimized operating profiles are compared by calculating the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH).

Giridhar, Nishant↗
DOE OSTI2024

Optimization of Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell Systems Accounting for Long-Term Performance and Health Degradation

This study focuses on optimizing solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) systems for efficient and durable long-term hydrogen (H2) production. While the elevated operating temperatures of SOECs offer advantages in terms of efficiency, they also lead to chemical degradation, which shortens cell lifespan. To address this challenge, dynamic degradation models are coupled with a steady-state, two-dimensional, non-isothermal SOEC model and steady-state auxiliary balance of plant equipment models, within the IDAES modeling and optimization framework. A quasi-steady state approach is presented to reduce model size and computational complexity. Long-term dynamic simulations at constant H2 production rate illustrate the thermal effects of chemical degradation. Dynamic optimization is used to minimize the lifetime cost of H2 production, accounting for SOEC replacement, operating, and energy expenses. Several optimized operating profiles are compared by calculating the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH).

Giridhar, Nishant↗
DOE OSTI2023

Enhancing the Faradaic efficiency of solid oxide electrolysis cells: progress and perspective

Abstract To reduce global warming, many countries are shifting to sustainable energy production systems. Solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) are being considered due to their high hydrogen generation efficiency. However, low faradaic efficiency in scaling SOEC technology affects costs and limits large-scale adoption of hydrogen as fuel. This review covers SOECs’ critical aspects: current state-of-the-art anode, cathode, and electrolyte materials, operational and materials parameters affecting faradaic efficiency, and computational modeling techniques to resolve bottlenecks affecting SOEC faradaic efficiency.

Gaikwad, Prashik S. (ORCID:0000000179510115)↗
DOE OSTI2022

Molecular Modeling of Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells

Disruption in weather patterns, increase in the average global temperature due to the over-utilization of fossil fuels and global warming, has involuntarily shifted our focus towards clean energy production. Solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) can generate H2 gas (clean energy) with highest efficiency. This poster includes modeling and challenges related to the electrolyte material used the SOECs.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Intermediate Temperature Proton‐Conducting Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells with Improved Performance and Durability

Technical understanding: A high-performance and stable intermediate temperature proton-conducting solid oxide electrolysis cell (PCEC) will add significantly to the hydrogen roadmap of EERE. However, the low electrocatalytic activity of the air electrode and the instability of the electrolyte are technical barriers. In this research, we utilized computational fluid dynamic modeling and materials/microstructure engineering to investigate the complex reaction chain and to improve the performance and reliability of the protonic ceramic electrochemical cells. An active and stable Pr 1.8 Ba 0.2 NiO 4+δ -BaZr 0.1 Ce 0.7 Y 0.1 Yb 0.1 O 3-δ (BZCYYb) scaffold conformal coating electrode was rationally designed where the robust Pr 1.8 Ba 0.2 NiO 4+δ functions both as a catalytic active and a protective layer. The PCECs with porosity-optimized scaffold conformal coating electrodes demonstrate 1.46 Acm -2 under 1.3 V at 600°C, which is among the highest in recent years. The final optimization by computational fluid dynamic modeling and conformal coating technique was applied to evolve the PCEC air electrode from Pr 2 NiO 4+δ to Pr 1.8 Ba 0.2 NiO 4+δ -BaZr 0.1 Ce 0.7 Y 0.1 Yb 0.1 O 3-δ scaffold conformal coating. The electrolysis current was boosted from 0.445A/cm 2 to 1.46A/cm 2 at 600°C and 1.3V. A superior low degradation rate of 1mV/kh was achieved in a 5000-hour of operation. Technical effectiveness and economic feasibility: The effectiveness of this TCO conformal coating on electrolyte backbone as air electrode has been proven by long-term demonstration. Based on the highly conductive BZCYYb electrolyte and the TCO steam electrode PNO, this project rationally took advantage of the existent materials to structure a PCEC device with high TRL and low risk. The solution infiltration method used to structure the conformal coating is a standard method used by the solid oxide cell community. Very minimal adoption is needed in the current SOC fabrication process. It is a cost-effective, scalable method for manufacturing, and brings up remarkable impact on the current technical status of PCEC. Benefit to the public: The findings in the research showed the industry that the severe challenge in PCEC can be overcome in a practical way. A various energy-hydrogen ecosystem is not beyond reach. The success of this technology provides sustainable and affordable H 2 to society. It will stimulate investment from the governmental and private sectors in response to the device manufacture and deployment, and the related infrastructure construction. It will generate high-pay domestic jobs and environmental benefits to the general public in the United States.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2024

Cyber-Physical Simulation of an Innovative Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell - Gas Turbine (SOEC-GT) Hybrid Energy System

To produce green hydrogen at scale and at low cost, the solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) systems would be tied to renewable power sources (mainly solar and wind), leveraging zero-carbon electricity at low prices and even nearly free during overgeneration scenarios. However, due to the intermittency of renewable power generation, the SOEC system is subjected to rapid load transitions that occur not only in diurnal cycles but also in short timeframes (e.g., sub-minute). This can result in fast degradation and thus greatly reduce the SOEC’s lifetime. Our team at the National Energy Technology Laboratory has demonstrated that the anode air flow can have a crucial role in SOEC thermal management. Typically, a higher air flow rate can help to mitigate the local temperature gradient distortion during rapid load transitions. To move a large amount of air, the gas turbine (GT; i.e., compressor-turbine-generator set) has been regarded as the most mature and efficient technology. In this presentation, we show the configuration and preliminary results of an innovative SOEC-GT hybrid energy system in a cyber-physical simulation (CPS) approach.

Zhang, Biao↗
DOE OSTI2025

An Active Oxygen Electrode for Proton-Conducting Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells with High Faradaic Efficiency

Addressing the challenges posed by inferior electrochemical performance at low temperatures and the uncertain Faradaic efficiency (FE) represents a pivotal undertaking in the development of high performance and efficient proton-conducting solid oxide electrolysis cells (P-SOECs). In this work, a novel oxygen electrode material BaCo0.8Zr0.1Zn0.1O3-d (BCZZ) is first designed and synthesized. At 600 °C, P-SOECs with BCZZ oxygen electrode achieve an electrolysis current density of 1.98 A cm-2 with an ˜90% FE at 1.3 V. Utilizing 1-inch P-SOECs as a reliable platform, the effect of extrinsic operating conditions (i.e., steam concentration, voltage, current density, and temperature) and intrinsic properties of P-SOECs (i.e., electrolyte material and electrolyte thickness) on FE are further systemically investigated, both experimentally and theoretically.

08 - HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2020

Long term durability test and post mortem for metal-supported solid oxide electrolysis cells

Hydrogen is a renewable energy carrier, and electrolysis to split water is the most environmentally friendly method to produce hydrogen. This work reports long-term durability and degradation mode analysis for metal-supported solid oxide electrolysis cells (MS-SOECs). Catalyst screening showed that MS-SOECs with composite electrode catalysts (samarium-doped ceria-nickel [SDC-Ni] serving as a fuel electrode catalyst, and praseodymium oxide [PrO x ]-SDC or La 0.6 Sr 0.4 Co 0.2 Fe 0.8 O 3 [LSCF]-SDC serving as an air electrode catalyst) exhibit the highest electrochemical performance at 700 °C. The degradation rate of cells with LSCF-SDC as the air electrode catalyst was as low as 1.3%/100 h in long term durability tests at a current density of 0.33 A cm -2 , in contrast to rapid degradation observed for a cell with a PrO x -SDC air electrode. Furthermore, post-mortem analysis reveals the degradation is dependent on the primary modes of fuel electrode catalyst coarsening and Cr poisoning on the air electrode catalyst, as well as secondary modes of oxidation of the metal support and local elemental accumulation of Ni. Other degradation modes reported in conventional anode-supported SOECs, such as Ni migration, foreign element contamination, delamination of the cell, and nano-voids on the electrolyte, are not observed in the present MS-SOECs.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Modeling the performance and faradaic efficiency of solid oxide electrolysis cells using doped barium zirconate perovskite electrolytes

Y-doped BaZrO 3 (BaZr 1 x Y x O 3 δ , or “BZY”), a proton-conducting ceramic featuring high bulk conductivity and good chemical stability, is a promising electrolyte material for solid oxide electrolysis cells. Further doping with Ce and/or Yb (creating materials “BCZY” and “BCZYYb”) can improve conductivity and sintering properties, but at significant penalty to cells’ faradaic efficiency (FE). Studies have proposed that reduction of lattice Ce can occur in the hydrogen electrode, which consumes some hydrogen produced by the hydrogen evolution reaction, leading to decreased FE. Despite studies suggesting this phenomenon, the mechanism is largely unknown. In this work, we developed a multiphysics model to study the transport of multiple defect species and the performance of BZY, BCZY, and BCZYYb, capturing the tradeoff between enhanced performance at the cost of FE for BCZY and BCZYYb electrolytes compared to BZY. We also found that increasing the water content of the anode gas supply lowers the current output of the cell but results in better FE. The model, which uses several parameters previously unavailable in the literature, was validated to experiments varying temperature, steam water content, and electrolyte material, as well as two performance metrics (performance curves and FE). Results verify and explain observed trends, informing future work on Ce-doped BZY electrolytes.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2025

Stress evolution and creep deformation in solid-oxide electrolysis cell systems – Dynamic modeling and multi-objective optimization to maximize stack life and efficiency

Here, this study develops a thermal stress model of solid-oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) including a model for creep strain and failure probability that is integrated with a dynamic plant-wide model of a hydrogen production process. Uncertainties in key material properties of the cell are quantified to assess their impact on stress profile variability. The oxygen electrode is found to have about 10 times higher failure probability compared to the fuel electrode. The study shows that if the stack operation is not optimized, cycling operation would lead to stress build-up eventually leading to catastrophic failure. A dynamic optimization problem is set up for obtaining the optimal operational profile considering a variable hydrogen production rate. Due to the tradeoff between the efficiency and stress build-up, the dynamic optimization problem is multi-objective. It is observed that the optimizer can considerably reduce the stress build-up (i.e., can increase the stack life) albeit at the cost of a lower efficiency thus exhibiting strong tradeoffs between capital and operating costs. For example, if the stack would be replaced in 0.5 yr, specific energy requirement would be 48.5 kWh/kg H 2 while for a stack replacement time of about 6 yr, the specific energy requirement rises by about 4.2 %.

SOEC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Techno-Economic Analysis of Large-Scale Hydrogen Production from Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell Systems

The objective of this study is to establish a detailed techno-economic analysis to assess the effectiveness of incremental technology improvements needed for solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) technology to achieve the U.S. DOE’s Hydrogen Shot goal of hydrogen production at less than $1 per kilogram. The pathway considers incremental technology improvements to key system parameters, with system performance and cost assessed for each pathway step. Briefly, the steps include cell voltage degradation rate improvements, operational current density increases, operating temperature reduction, improved steam utilization, increased system capacity factor, and reduced cell/stack capital costs. Each step is assessed at both atmospheric and pressurized (8 bar) operating conditions. To supplement assessment at each of these discrete stepwise improvements, sensitivity studies are conducted to understand the relative impact of each parameter and identify avenues for additional cost reductions. System efficiency and levelized costs of hydrogen (LCOH) for each case are presented. For the end-of-pathway case, which includes all the incremental research and development improvements, the cost of hydrogen produced is reduced by 50 percent from the state-of-the-art case.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2023

NMPC for Setpoint Tracking Operation of a Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell System

Allan, D.A., V. Dabadghao, M. Li, J.C. Eslick, J. Ma, D. Bhattacharyya, S.E. Zitney, and L.T. Biegler, “NMPC for Setpoint Tracking Operation of a Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell System,” Foundations of Computer Aided Process Operations / Chemical Process Control (FOCAPO/CPC 2023), San Antonio, TX, January 8-12 (2023).

Allan, Douglas↗
DOE OSTI2023

Role of phosphorus impurities in decomposition of La 2 NiO 4 –La 0.5 Ce 0.5 O 2-δ oxygen electrode in a solid oxide electrolysis cell

This study explored the decomposition mechanism of a La 2 NiO 4 (LNO) phase in the La 2 NiO 4 –La 0.5 Ce 0.5 O 2-δ (LNO-LDC) oxygen electrode in a solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) after testing at 800 °C. Scanning electron microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy examinations of the LNO-LDC oxygen electrode before and after testing were undertaken. Other than phosphorus contamination in the form of P-rich grains and P-rich deposits along all grain boundaries (GBs), LNO and LDC phases were intact without degradation in the as-fabricated electrode. However, mild to aggressive LNO phase decomposition triggered by the phosphorus poisoned GBs was observed after testing at 800 °C for 900 h. The evolution of the LNO phase decomposition was noted beginning with the exsolution of Ni into the surrounding LNO matrix and GBs, forming La-rich and Ni-rich phases correspondingly, in the LNO. Importantly, this study illustrates a detailed decomposition progress of the LNO phase at the atomic level under an SOEC operation condition, and sheds light on how to ameliorate the fabrication process of SOECs to enhance their performance and durability.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Oxidation of porous stainless steel supports for metal-supported solid oxide electrolysis cells

Oxidation behavior of porous P434L ferritic stainless steel, used for the fabrication of metal-supported solid oxide electrolysis cells (MS-SOEC), is studied under oxygen-side and steam-side conditions. The impact of oxygen content on the oxygen side and steam:hydrogen ratio on the steam side is determined at 700°C for bare, as-sintered samples. For these conditions, oxidation is more aggressive in the steam-side atmosphere. Oxygen with 3% humidification and steam:hydrogen ratio of 90:10 are selected for further assessment with pre-oxidized, catalyst-coated, and CuMn1·8O4-coated samples. The rapid oxidation at 700°C and breakaway oxidation at 600 °C observed for bare stainless steel in 90:10 steam:hydrogen is mitigated by pre-oxidizing the sample in air before exposure. In oxygen, addition of the catalyst or CuMn 1·8 O 4 coatings moderately increases the oxidation rate, due to consumption of Cr via reaction between the coatings and Cr-oxide scale. In conclusion, the results for ex-situ controlled oxidation are similar to oxidation observed after 1000h operation of a full MS-SOEC. In general, the oxidation behavior at 700°C is found to be acceptable.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2023

Theoretical understanding of stability of the oxygen electrode in a proton-conductor based solid oxide electrolysis cell

The oxygen electrode in a proton-conductor based solid oxide cells is often a triple-conducting material that enables the transport and exchange of electrons (e - ), oxygen ions (O 2- ), and protons (H + ), thus expanding active areas to enhance the oxygen electrode activity. In this work, a theoretical model was developed to understand stability of tri-conducting oxygen electrode by studying chemical potentials of neutral species (i.e., μ o 2 , μ H 2 , and μ H 2 O ) as functions of transport properties, operating parameters, and cell geometry. Our theoretical understanding shows that (1): In a conventional oxygen-ion based solid oxide cell, a high μ o 2 (thus high oxygen partial pressure) exists in the oxygen electrode during the electrolysis mode, which may lead to the formation of cracks at the electrode/electrolyte interface. Further, while in a proton-conductor based solid oxide cell, the μ o 2 is reduced significantly, suppressing the crack formation, and resulting in improved performance stability (2). In a typical proton-conductor based solid oxide electrolyzer, the dependence of μ o 2 on the Faradaic efficiency is negligible. Hence, approaches to block the electronic current can improve the electrolysis efficiency while achieving stability (3). The difference of the μ o 2 (thus p o 2 ) between the oxygen electrode and gas phase can be reduced by using higher ionic conducting components and improving electrode kinetics, which lead to further improvement of electrode stability.

08 HYDROGEN↗