In May 2017 during the 231st ECS Meeting, we sat down with Eric Wachsman, director and William L. Crentz Centennial Chair in Energy Research at the University of Maryland Energy Research Center. The conversation is led by Rob Gerth, ECS’s director of marketing and communications.

Wachsman is an expert in solid oxide fuel cells and other energy storage technologies. He’s the lead organizer of the 7th International Electrochemical Energy Summit, which will take place at the 232nd ECS Meeting in National Harbor, Maryland, October 1st through the 6th. His work in battery safety, water treatment, and clean energy development has gained international attention.

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A new issue of ECS Transactions (ECST) has just been published. This issue incorporates 333 papers from the upcoming 15th International Symposium on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC-XV). This conference will be held in Hollywood, Florida, USA, July 23-28, 2017.

ECST Volume 78, Issue 1 is now available in the ECS Digital Library. This issue is also available for purchase as an electronic (PDF) edition through the ECS Online Store.

Learn more about this upcoming conference and find out more about ECST.

The 15th International Symposium on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells is being held in Hollywood, FL at the Diplomat Beach Resort from July 23-28, 2017. With almost 400 abstracts being presented across six days, this meeting is sure to have something of interest for everyone.

All participants are welcome to attend a special workshop  on SOFCs and their role in distributed power. The event will include talks by Microsoft, Cummins, University of California – Irvine, and Ceres Power on inherent synergies of SOFCs when embedded in data centers or other modular power applications. The talks will be followed by a panel discussion, giving audience members a chance to ask questions and share their ideas.

This workshop seeks to provide insight from the end-user perspective; i.e., what potential buyers/users of SOFCs envision as the opportunities and risks of the technology when embedded as an inherent part of the application, and what this approach means for the direction of the future SOFC development.

Discounted hotel rooms are still available.

The Diplomat Beach Resort ushers in a new era of oceanfront perfection in South Florida. Voted a Top Florida Resort by Conde Nast Traveler Readers in 2016, the hotel’s flair for the exceptional extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Intracoastal Waterway. The resort features bright, beachy guest rooms, two sun-drenched pools, a glittering, ultramodern spa, plus 10 all-new restaurants.

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In May 2017, we sat down with Subhash Singhal, a world leader in the study of solid oxide fuel cells, at the 231st ECS Meeting in New Orleans. The conversation was led by Rob Gerth, director of marketing and communications at ECS.

Singhal is a Batelle Fellow and Director of Fuel Cells at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and the lead organizer of the upcoming 15th International Symposium on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC-XV), taking place in Hollywood, Florida, July 23-28, 2017. Additionally, he is an ECS fellow, has served on the Society’s board of directors, and received the ECS Outstanding Achievement Award in High Temperature Materials.

Listen to the podcast and download this episode and others for free through the iTunes Store, SoundCloud, or our RSS Feed. You can also find us on Stitcher and Acast.

PS: There’s still time to register for SOFC-XV! Advanced registration and hotel reservations end June 30! Register and book your hotel today!

The 15th International Symposium on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC-XV) is set to take place in Hollywood, FL, July 23-27, 2017.

This symposium will bring together scientists, engineers, and researchers from academia, industry, and government laboratories to share results and discuss issues related to solid oxide fuel cells and electrolyzers.

SOFC got its roots in 1989 when Subhash Singhal, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Battelle Fellow, initiated the symposium. After 28 years, Singhal is taking the conference back to its birthplace, drawing scientists and engineers from around across the globe.

“We have formed a world-wide community of solid oxide fuel cell researchers,” Singhal says. “Before this symposium, people were scattered among different professional societies and different scientific disciplines. This conference has been instrumental in bringing everyone together.”

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We are pleased to announce that early bird registration for SOFC-XV, being held in Hollywood, FL at the Diplomat Beach Resort from July 23-28, 2017 is now open!

This meeting provides an opportunity to learn and exchange information on the latest scientific and technical developments relating to SOFCs and SOECs. With over 400 abstracts submitted to this symposium, this meeting is sure to draw some of the best and brightest in the field.

Registration packages also include access to the meeting abstracts, a USB/CD-ROM of the proceedings published in ECS Transactions, and a ticket for the SOFC banquet.

Early bird rates will only be available until June 16, 2017.

Exhibit and sponsorship options are still available!

For more information contact sponsorship@electrochem.org.

Nissan is taking a big step toward eco-friendly transportation with the development of their new solid oxide fuel cell vehicle.

The science behind the vehicle, which the car company has branded e-Bio Fuel-Cell, uses bio-ethanol fuel to generate electricity through SOFC technology. Nissan states that sugarcane, corn, and soy can all be used as means of fuel – resulting in a carbon neutral cycle when the car hits the road.

The company expects the vehicle to be ready for commercial purchase as early as 2020.

Image: CC0 Public Domain

Fuel cells have existed (at least in theory) since the early 1800s, but have spent much of their existence as laboratory curiosities. It wasn’t until the mid-1900s that fuel cells finally got their time in the spotlight with the first major application in the Gemini and Apollo space flights.

While fuel cells have moved forward in the competitive field of energy storage, there are still many barriers that researchers are attempting to overcome. Especially today, with society making a conscious effort to move toward more sustainable types of power, much emphasis has been put on solid oxide fuel cells and moving them from the lab to the market.

(MORE: Get additional information on the evolution of fuel cell technology.)

A team of researchers from Washington State University believes they may have taken a crucial step in doing just that.

Moving fuel cells forward

The team recently published a paper detailing what they believe to be a key step in SOFC improvement and eventually implementation in the marketplace. These small improvements could mean big changes.
SOFCs, unlike other types of fuel cells, do not require the use of expensive materials (i.e. platinum) to develop.

“Solid oxide fuel cells are very fuel flexible in contrast to other kinds of fuel cells, like alkaline fuel cells,” Subhash Singhal, Battelle Fellow Emeritus at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and esteemed fuel cell expert, told ECS in a previous interview. “Solid oxide fuel cells can use a variety of fuel: natural gas, coal gas, and even liquid fuels like diesel and gasoline.”

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New material could help SOFCs operate more efficiently and cheaply.
Image: Bloom Energy

Solid oxide fuel cells may be producing cleaner energy at a more efficient level soon, thanks to a development at the University of Cambridge.

A new thin-film electrolyte material, developed by a team including ECS member Sergei Kalinin, has the potential to propel portable power sources due to its ability to achieve high performance levels and very low temperatures.

Advancing fuel cells

With a huge scientific focus shift toward developing new energy technologies, fuel cells have emerged as a big contender. Transitioning from a simple laboratory curiosity in the 19th century to a main contender for powering electric vehicles, researchers have dedicated much energy to building an efficient, cost effective fuel cell.

(MORE: Read “Battery and Fuel Cell Technology“)

This from University of Cambridge:

By using thin-film electrolyte layers, micro solid oxide fuel cells offer a concentrated energy source, with potential applications in portable power sources for electronic consumer or medical devices, or those that need uninterruptable power supplies such as those used by the military or in recreational vehicles.

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[Click to enlarge]

Here is our image obtained by STEM. It was published recently in the Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 162 (2015) F750-F754. It was also presented in Glasgow conference.

It is a stable high-index Ni-YSZ interface of a conventional solid oxide fuel cell.

Our study is the first attempt to analyze the real interface in conventional SOFC.