Status of National Project for SOFC Development in Japan

Abstract

New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) has started the development project of system and elemental technology on SOFC from Fy2008. The objective of this project is to clarify the prospects for 40,000 hours of operation (voltage decrease rate less than 0.25%/1,000 hours) and the prospects for 250 start-up and stop operations. Thermodynamic analysis, a chemical analysis, and a mechanical analysis have been conducted to make clear the deterioration mechanism, to make the countermeasures, and to establish acceleration test method. In addition, start-stop technology aiming at improving operability, and high-pressure operation technology aiming at achieving ultra-high-efficiency operation have been developed. The demonstrative research project on SOFC has been started since Fy2007. In this project, 136 units of 0.7-8 kW SOFC systems were installed in various actual load environments and the operating data were evaluated and analyzed to identify issues which would feed back into the technological development project mentioned above.