Solid oxide electrolysis cell technology (SOEC)

The high temperature electrolysis, also called solid oxide electrolysis cell technology (SOEL or SOEC), is able to convert steam and/or green CO2 to hydrogen and CO, which are needed for green fuels and chemicals.

The SOEC technology has the advantage of being 25-30 % more efficient than the other electrolysis technologies, saving both materials and area for the input renewable energy and needed power infrastructure.

The technology handles dynamic operation well (0-100 % load in few minutes) with minimal losses, making it suitable for supporting grids with variable renewable energy sources. The maturity is however slightly lower than for the most other technologies.

At DTU Energy we research and develop:

• Materials for the cells
• Electrode microstructures
• Cell architectures
• Stack designs
• Interconnect coatings
• Glass sealings

Characterize the developments:

• Advanced microscopy (TEM, SEM, …)
• In-situ / operando (TEM, Raman, energy resolved neutron (TOF), …)
• Model electrode experiments
• Cell testing, including segmented cells (20+ rigs)
• Stack testing (5 rigs)
• Mechanically at high temperature in controlled atmosphere (strength, fracture toughness, creep, …)

Model to understand and design:

• Continuum multi-physical microstructure, cell, stack models (including degradation)
• System models (for optimal sizing, thermal integration with downstream processes)
• Operational strategies (balancing degradation, variable renewable power and ancillary services)
• Multi-Physics informed neural networks (for fast computations in relationship to physics informed controllers)