Manufacturing of Anode-Supported SOFC's: Processing Parameters and their Influence

• Main Authors: Ramousse, Severine, Menon, Mohan, Brodersen, Karen, Knudsen, Jesper, Rahbek, Uffe, Larsen, Peter H.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1938-5862; 1938-6737
• DOI: 10.1149/1.2729107

Commercialization of SOFC technology is strongly relying on the establishment of low cost, highly reliable and reproducible manufacturing processes. A major challenge in the production chain is the manufacture of single cells. Anode-supported planar SOFC's are layer structured, where each layer contains a complex microstructure. Successful manufacture of such a cell and the achievement of optimal final properties are very much dependant on each of the processing steps and their interdependence. Therefore, in order to improve the cell performance as well as reducing the processing costs, it is necessary to consider the process chain holistically. Several thousand anode-supported SOFCs are manufactured annually at the Risoe National Laboratory in collaboration with Topsoe Fuel Cell A/S. As a result a large database exists, which enables a statistical analysis of the various controlling parameters. In the present work, some of the critical manufacturing elements are discussed along with their impact on product quality.