HAMR INDUSTRIES LLC — Department of Energy SBIR Phase I: 18b

Description

Solid oxide fuel cells offer an alternative source of energy with efficiencies which are significantly better than current fossil fuel based systems. This is accomplished in part by utilizing ceramic materials which can operate at high temperature > 800°C. One factor preventing wide scale adoption of these fuel cells is the cost of manufacturing and the inability to manufacture the ceramic materials in favored geometries in an efficient manner while still providing good performance. The proposed work provides a solution to this problem by utilizing additive manufacturing techniques such as direct ink writing and cold spray. When combined, these techniques will require fewer drying and sintering steps, simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing costs. In addition, the additive manufacturing of alternative (non-planar) geometries is possible through these techniques, with resolution limits significantly improved over current techniques and therefore with improved performance. During Phase I, the work will focus on the development of the inks required for the direct ink writing. The processing for the direct ink technique and cold spray technique will be developed to produce cathode/electrolyte half cells, and anodes, respectively. Once the process methodology has been developed, the techniques will be combined to produce full cells, and these will be tested in terms of their power density, polarization losses, electrical conductivity, and ionic conductivity. Optimization will take place to provide the highest resolution and best cell performance. By developing a manufacturing process for solid oxide fuel cell using only additive manufacturing techniques, the cost of production will be reduced while the production reliability and cell performance will be improved. This will result in reductions in cell cost and increased adoption of fuel cell technology, potentially reducing greenhouse emissions. In addition, successful integration of additive manufacturing for this purpose may promote further adaptation in other fields, including aerospace, electronics, defense, and industrial applications.