Fuel cells are considered to be a promising technology for the supply of energy in the 21st century. Different to conventional thermoelectricity generation systems, in fuel cells the chemical energy stored in the reactants (basically oxygen and hydrogen) is directly transformed into electric energy without any intermediate transformation steps.
The characteristic features of the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) compared to other types of fuel cells are the utilization of a solid electrolyte (e.g. doped zirconia) and the very high operation temperature of approximately 1,740°F, which makes the SOFC an ideal candidate for decentralized thermoelectricity generation.
Worldwide famous companies are working on this new, environmentally beneficial technology for energy transformation coupled with waste heat recovery, leading to an extraordinarily high electrical and thermal efficiency. PLANSEE contributes to the realization of this technology with a specifically developed Cr-based alloy for so-called SOFC interconnectors (bipolar plates/current collectors).
