Advancing direct ethanol metal supported fuel cells with catalytic layer

Abstract

Fuel cells are efficient power sources to play a role in the urgent energy transition. Direct ethanol fuel cells may boost the application of solid oxide fuel cell because ethanol is an efficient, sustainable, and readily available fuel. Metal supported solid oxide fuel cells provide the necessary mechanical properties to allow complex applications such as vehicles. Thus, the combination of a renewable fuel and a robust fuel cell may be a perfect combination for widespread decarbonization of transportation, facilitated by an economic viable and energetic efficient liquid fuel. However, several challenges remain to prolong the durability of such devices running on ethanol. We report on the significant improvement of the metal supported fuel cell stability operating at relatively low temperature (700 °C) with ethanol by adding a porous active catalytic layer with controlled microstructure using processing parameters compatible with the metal-supported solid oxide fuel cell technology.