Solid state electrochemical devices for hydrogen energy

Abstract

The idea of nuclear-hydrogen energy draws growing interest of power engineering specialists. One of the ways to implement such a direction of development is integration of nuclear power station and high temperature electrochemical devices, namely solid oxide electrolyzers (SOE) and fuel cells (SOFC). This paper reviews the principal features of the devices and their high efficiency of energy transformation. The electrical efficiency of the SOEs can exceed 100 % at the expense of high-grade potential heat energy consumed by the electrolyzer. The efficiency of the SOFCs amounts to 70 %. The state of the art of long-term tests of single cells of SOEs and SOFC stacks are presented.