Description
Fuel cell devices are a rapidly growing technology that convert chemical energy directly into electricity and heat with high efficiency and low pollution rates. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), a leading fuel cell system, are made using commonly available ceramic materials such as zirconia.

One advantage of SOFC is that hydrogen and carbon dioxide are used as fuel in the cell. This means that SOFC can use many common hydrocarbon fuels such as natural gas, diesel, gasoline and alcohol without the need to reform the fuel into pure hydrogen. In other fuel cells, such as the polymer electrolyte fuel cell, that are fueled with pure hydrogen, the carbon dioxide is a poison.

SOFC have a potentially lower cost due to the absence of precious metals, compared to proton exchange membrane and phosphoric acid fuel cells which use platinum as a catalyst. Some other fuel cell types use liquid electrolytes, similar to battery acid, that can have a corrosive effect on components. Since SOFC use one piece solid state ceramic cells, they are easier to maintain due to the lack of this corrosion.

Fuel cells will have many uses. SOFC are being targeted for use in power and heat generation for homes and businesses as well as auxiliary power units for electrical systems in vehicles. SOFC also can be linked with a gas turbine, in which the hot, high pressure exhaust of the fuel cell can be used to spin the turbine, generating a second source of electricity.

The following individuals may be contacted by the media regarding ceramic applications in fuel cells.

Keith A. Blakely
President
TechSys Inc.
147 Columbia Parkway
Florham Park, NJ 07932
973/236-1919 ext. 132 (phone)
Background: At TechSys Inc., Blakely is involved with two new fuel cell technologies. The first, direct methanol, is intended for small power requirements (less than 50 watts) for portable and personal electronics such as laptop computers, digital cameras, cell phones, etc. The second is microtubular solid oxide fuel cells. This technology is targeted at the portable power market for residential, transportation and military applications where systems of up to 50 kW are needed.

David Richerson
Adjunct Associate Professor of Materials Science & Engineering
University of Utah
2917 E. Pine View Dr.
Salt Lake City, UT 84121
801/733-4408 (phone & fax)
richersond@aol.com (e-mail)
Background: While Director of R&D at Ceramatec, Inc., Richerson co-founded their program on solid oxide fuel cells in 1985 and co-managed a variety of subsequent projects until 1991. In 1996 Richerson co-founded Advanced Energy Devices to study the potential for use of solid oxide fuel cells as part of a hybrid residential total energy system.

Dr. Subhash C. Singhal
Battelle Fellow and Director, Fuel Cells
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
902 Battelle Boulevard, P.O. Box 999
Richland, WA 99352
509/375-6738 (phone)
509/375-6605 (fax)
singhal@pnl.gov (e-mail)
Background: Singhal is responsible for providing senior technical, managerial and commercialization leadership to the fuel cell program at PNNL. Before joining PNNL, he served as manager of fuel cell technology at Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation where he was responsible for the development of high-temperature solid oxide fuel cells for stationary power generation.