Harvard Researchers Develop Fuel Cell Chip

A collaborative effort between Harvard Researchers and SiEnergy Systems has led to the development of the first macro-scale solid-oxide fuel cell.

“The breakthrough in this work is that we have demonstrated power density comparable to what you can get with tiny membranes, but with membranes that are a factor of a hundred or so larger, demonstrating that the technology is scalable,” says principal investigator Shriram Ramanathan, associate professor of materials science at SEAS.

SOFCs create electrical energy via an electrochemical reaction that takes place across an ultrathin membrane. This 100-nanometer membrane, comprising the electrolyte and electrodes, has to be thin enough to allow ions to pass through it at a relatively low temperature (which, for ceramic fuel cells, lies in the range of 300 to 500 degrees Celsius). These low temperatures allow for a quick start-up, a more compact design, and less use of rare-earth materials.

300 to 500 degrees sounds pretty high, but when you consider that current fuel cells of this type operate closer to 1000 degrees Celsius, that’s a pretty impressive achievement. The team plans to work further to refine the technology and develop it as a potential replacement for certain types of small batteries.

Source: Alex Knapp, Forbes