Delphi achieves Phase 1 goals for SOFC system M ichigan-based Delphi Corporation has reached an important milestone in bringing solid oxide fuel cell technology to market by 2011, according to the US Department of Energy.
A Delphi-led team working jointly with DOE's Office of Fossil Energy has achieved all Phase 1 goals of the Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA), according to Wayne Surdoval, DOE's SECA program manager.
Delphi's SECA demonstration system produced peak power of 4.24 kW on methane, the primary constituent of natural gas, achieving the goal of 3-10 kW. The system also demonstrated a peak efficiency of 37%, exceeding the Phase 1 goal of 35%, and matched the durability goal with power degradation of just 7% over 1500 h of operation. Delphi also met the Phase 1 goal of $800 per kW for the total power unit, assuming volume production, by achieving an estimated $770 per kW.
'The Delphi team has passed an important test,' says Surdoval. 'In meeting SECA's Phase 1 goals, it has delivered to DOE's National Energy Technologies Laboratory a fully operational, highly compact demonstration system, capable of meeting the space constraints of many potential mobile and stationary power applications.' SECA's Phase 1 goals called for industry-led development teams to make meaningful progress in achieving cost, performance and durability improvements. A major challenge is that the technology is difficult to develop, because it is based on a new class of multi-layered ceramic materials. Additionally, the SOFC unit must be powerful and small enough for practical applications, yet durable enough for years of trouble-free operation, and cost-effective to manufacture and for customers to buy.
Delphi and DOE will continue the partnership under SECA, says Mary Gustanski, director of engineering at Delphi Powertrain Systems. 'Working with the DOE, we will proceed to Phase 2 of the program. This will be a three-year, cost-shared contract between Delphi and the DOE, valued at more than $45 million,' she says.
Gustanski continues: 'Phase 2 goals will be to reduce the SOFC system factory cost to less than US$600 per kW, to increase efficiency to 40% or more, and to further increase power density. The Delphi team will also work to increase durability, particularly to withstand more thermal cycles.