Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Development
for Transportation and Stationary
Applications: Overview & Status Update
Gary D. Blake
Program Manager – Fuel Cells
2010 Advanced Energy Conference
November 8, 2010
Topics
SOFC 101
 Technology Evolution
 A Level System

– Design Overview
– Accomplishments

B Level System
– Design Overview
– Gen 4 Stack
Recent Accomplishments
 Acknowledgements

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Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Physics
2e-
Porous
2e-
Porous
Cathode
Anode
Reaction Products + Heat
O-2
ion
O
2
Air
(H2O, CO2, H2, CO etc.)
H2 (and other fuels: CO, CH4 ...)
Anode Reactions:
Cathode Reaction:
1/2 O2 + 2e-
O-2
ion
Catalyst
Thin Solid
Interfaces
Electrolyte
H2
2H
2H + + O-2
ion
+
+ 2e H2O
SOFC = High temperature (700 to 1000 C) solid state fuel cell
with ceramic, oxygen ion conducting electrolyte
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Required Reforming and Cleaning Steps For
Different Fuel Cell Types
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Market Opportunities

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Provide:
– Ultra-clean, near zero emissions
– High-quality, reliable power
– High fuel efficiency
– Fuel flexibility
– Low noise
Residential Power
Stationary CHP Power Units
Commercial Power
Stationary Power Units
Heavy Duty Trucks
Auxiliary Power Units
Recreational Vehicles
Auxiliary Power Units
Military
Auxiliary & Mobile Power Units
Delphi Presentation to Advanced Energy Conference 08NOV10
Clean Coal Power Plant
Advanced Power Systems
5
Delphi Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
System Power & Efficiency Progress
Diesel
Natural Gas
4000
45
35
3000
Power (Watts)
30
2500
25
2000
20
1500
15
1000
10
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2011 (Projected)
2009/2010
Development Period
2008
2007
2007
0
2006
0
2005
5
2004
500
Net System Efficiency (%)
40
3500
Net Power
Efficiency
6
Level A Hardware Overview
Gen 4 SOFC Stack
Endothermic Diesel Reformer with integrated burner
Highly integrated manifold and heat exchanger assembly
Desulfurizer
Power Electronics
Delphi Presentation to Advanced Energy Conference 08NOV10
Fuel and Air Supply Systems
7
Delphi Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
Performance Comparison – Actual vs Predicted
Delphi’s SOFC APU has higher efficiency and lower fuel usage compared to a diesel
engine gen set
SOFC APU vs Gen Set
Delphi’s A-level hardware actualDelphi
results
agree with predicted values for B-level hardware


35
1.2
1.1
30
0.9
Efficiency (%)
25
0.8
0.7
20
0.6
15
0.5
0.4
10
0.3
0.2
5
Fuel Consumption Rate
(gal/hr)
1.0
0.1
0
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
0.0
3500
Net Power (W)
Delphi APU Efficiency
Gen Set Efficiency
DPS300d A-Level Actual Effic.
Delphi APU Fuel Consumption
Gen Set Fuel Consumption
DPS3000D A-Level Actual Fuel
Delphi Presentation to Advanced Energy Conference 08NOV10
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8
Delphi Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
System Emissions

Delphi’s SOFC APU meets current EPA emissions standards
9.00
7.82
8.00
HC and NOx (g/bhp-hr)
HC
NOx
7.00
6.00
5.01
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.64
1.00
0.20
0.00
0.16
0.14
0.20
Delphi Presentation to Advanced Energy Conference 08NOV10
EPA Diesel
Truck Engine
Standard
Delphi SOFC
APU (3.0 kW)
Diesel Engine
GenSet
(2.7 kW)
Gasoline
Engine
GenSet
0.00
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Delphi Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
Noise Evaluation
Delphi’s SOFC APU is quieter than current diesel gensets
Test Set Up
<60dBA target
Relative Noise Levels
 Snowmobile (100dBA)

Telephone Dial Tone (80dBA)

Current Diesel Gen Set APU (75‐
80dBA)

Normal Conversation (60‐
70dBA)

Delphi SOFC APU (60dBA)

Whisper Quiet Library (30dBA)
Sub Systems at rated power Left Front
Right Rear
Delphi Presentation to Advanced Energy Conference 08NOV10
Increasing Noise Level

10
DPS3000D A-Level Testing On Vehicle
SOFC System Power - Operating on Road Diesel (ULSD)
Showing SOFC System capable
of responding to load transients
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SOFC Validation Plan is Being Developed by
Leveraging Product Development & Testing Expertise
Delphi Experts
Validation Software
Outside Validation
Companies
Customers
Government
&
Commercial
Delphi Presentation to Advanced Energy Conference 08NOV10
Technical Institutes:
Universities
SOFC Validation
Team
12
Delphi Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
A –Level to B-Level System Features






Increased net power output
Smaller package size
Reduced mass
Anode Oxidation Protection System included
Reduced sensor requirements
High volume manufacturable sub-systems
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GEN 4 STACK
¨
Key stack features are:
¨ 4x active area increase
¨ Very low pressure drop (less than 4kPa, anode and cathode)
¨ Laser welded cassette repeating unit configuration
¨ Stamped metallic cassette components including interconnects
¨ Reduced part count
¨ Low cost, conventionally processed balance of stack components
¨ Improved sealing features
¨ Low cost castings
¨ Low cost loading mechanism
Gen 3 stack
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Gen 4 stack
14
GEN 4 STACK PERFORMANCE

25-cell Gen 4 stack power density
– Produced 5064 Watts (506 mW per cm2) @ 0.81 Volts per cell with 48.5% H2, 3% H2O, rest N2
– Data shows comparison of Gen 3 and Gen 4 electrochemical performance
1.2
600
1
500
0.8
400
0.6
300
G4 MeanVoltage(V)
0.4
200
Power Density (mW/cm2)
Cell Voltage (V)
Gen4 MG735G003 - 25RU
Date: 12/5/2009
vs. Gen3.2 MG735C824 - 40RU
Date: 2/10/2010
Stack Voltage and Power Density for Polarization Test
G3.2 MeanVoltage(V)
G4 PowerDensity(mW/cm^2)
0.2
100
G3.2 PowerDensity(mW/cm^2)
0
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.60
0
0.70
Current Density(A/cm^2)
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Delphi Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
Recent Accomplishments

Installed first Delphi diesel SOFC APU on a Heavy Duty Truck for
operation on the road
– Operates on road diesel (ULSD) using internal desulfurization and reforming devices
– Completing APU level Vibration testing in Lab based on truck vibration profile from Customer
vehicle testing
– Recently complete first every SOFC 430 mile over-the-road trip


DPS 3000D B-Level system design complete and first units built by end
of year
Stack Build
– Built first larger footprint Cells and Stacks (403cm2).
– Gen 4 40-cell stack produced 7.5 kW at average cell voltage of 0.8 volts on 50% H2 / 47% N2
/ 3% H2O

Stack durability testing
– >10,000 hours of continuous operation with no measurable performance degradation over the
last 8,500 hours
– Successfully passed 3.5M mile equivalent vibration test

Delphi/Peterbilt awarded DOE program for 1 year on vehicle
demonstration
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Acknowledgements
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