High Temperature Electrochemistry Center (HiTEC)
Fuel Cell test rig for efficient testing of “button” cells with new formulations / architectures
The High Temperature Electrochemistry Center (HiTEC) was a multidisciplinary research collaboration funded by the U.S. Department of Energy focused on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs). SOFCs operate at high temperatures and can use lower cost metals (nickel) for a catalyst as opposed to low temperature fuel cells which use platinum. HiTEC was managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory and was based at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington with a satellite center at Montana State University (MSU)
At MSU, HiTEC research included development of new SOFC anode, cathode, and electrolyte formulations; structuring electrodes using an innovative freeze-casting method; development of corrosion resistant coatings for metallic interconnects; and dual atmosphere measurement of corrosion at high temperatures.
A hallmark of the HiTEC work was its vertical integration. Work on materials formulation and structure for cathodes, anodes electrolytes, and interconnects was coupled to detailed characterization using a variety of techniques including SEM, EEMS, and Rutherford backscattering to determine impact on performance and to understand mechanisms of degradation. Synchrotron based X-ray techniques were used to investigate interfacial phenomena critical to fuel cell operation at buried interfaces.
Additionally, electrical test rigs were designed and constructed to research how loads and load transients affected fuel cell performance. These rigs contained built-in impedance spectroscopy capabilities to measure performance degradation as a function of cell stresses generated by load transients. To reduce transient impacts, an adaptive, predictive control method was developed.
MSU also developed a physically based dynamic model for SOFCs targeted at use in multi-source, multi-load power system models.
MSU HiTEC investigators included Max Diebert, Paul Gannon, Hongwei Gao, Yves Idzerda, Hashem Nehrir, Hugo Schmidt, Steven Shaw, Dick Smith, and Stephen Sofie with Lee Spangler directing the effort. While HiTEC funding has ended, there is still significant fuel cell research at MSU in ERI.
Publications
2010
C.M. Colson, M.H. Nehrir., Evaluating the Benefits of a Hybrid Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Combined Heat & Power Plant for Energy Sustainability and Emissions Avoidance. IEEE Transaction on Energy Conversion, 2010.
2009
Sofie, S.W., Gannon, P.E., Deibert, M.C., and Gorokhovsky, V.I., Silver-Chromium Oxide Interactions in SOFC Environments. Journal of Power Sources, 2009. 191(2): p. 465-472.
Gannon, P.E., Sofie, S.W., Deibert, M.C., Smith, R.J., and Gorokhovsky, V.I., Thin Film YSZ Coatings on Functionally Graded Freeze Cast Anode Supports. Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, 2009. 39(4): p. 497-502.
Colson, C.M., Nehrir, M.H., Deibert, M.C., Amin, M.R., and Wang, C., Efficiency Evaluation of Solid-Oxide Fuel Cells in Combined-Cycle Operation. ASME Journal of Fuel Cell Science and Technology, 2009. 6(2).
Tu, C.-S., Chien, R.R., Schmidt, V.H., Lee, S.C., Huang, C.C., and Tsai, C.-L., Thermal Stability of Ba(Zr0.8-xCexY0.2)O2.9 Ceramics in Carbon Dioxide. Journal of Applied Physics, 2009. 105(10).
Macauley, C., Gannon, P.E., Deibert, M.C., and White, P.T., The Influence of Pre-Treatment on the Oxidation Behavior of Co Coated SOFC Interconnects. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2009.
Balland, A., Gannon, P.E., Deibert, M.C., Chevalier, S., Caboche, G., and Fontana, S., Investigation of La2O3 and/or (Co,Mn)3O4 deposits on Crofer22APU for the SOFC Interconnect Application. Surface and Coatings Technology, 2009. 203(20-21): p. 3291-3296.
Gannon, P.E., Sofie, S.W., Deibert, M.C., Smith, R.J., and Gorokhovsky, V.I., Thin film YSZ Coatings on Functionally Graded Freeze Cast NiO/YSZ SOFC Anode Supports. Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, 2009. 2009(39): p. 497-502.
Tu, C.-S., Chien, R.R., Lee, S.C., Tsai, C.-L., Schmidt, V.H., Keith, A., Hall, S., and Santorsola, N.P., In-situ Temperature-dependent X-ray Diffraction Study of Ba(Zr0.8-xCexY0.2)O3-δ Ceramics, in Advances in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells IV. 2009, Wiley: Hoboken, NJ. p. 117-123.
Chien, R.R., Tu, C.-S., Schmidt, V.H., Huang, C.C., and Lee, S.C., Synthesis and Characterization of Nano-sized Proton-conducting Ba(Zr0.8-xCexY0.2)O2.9 Ceramic Powders. Journal of Power Sources, 2009.
Tu, C.-S., Huang, C.C., Lee, S.C., Chien, R.R., Schmidt, V.H., and Tsai, C.-L., Effect of Lithium Fluoride on Thermal Stability of Proton-conducting Ba(Zr0.8-xCexY0.2) O2.9 Ceramics. Solid State Ionics, 2009.
Nehrir, M.H. and Wang, C., eds. Modeling and Control of Fuel Cells: Distributed Generation Applications. 2009, Wiley-IEEE Press (Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers, Inc.)
Colson, C.M. and Nehrir, A.R., Evaluating the Benefits of a Hybrid Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Combined Heat & Power Plant for Energy Sustainability and Emissions Avoidance. IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy, 2009.
Tu, C.-S., Chien, R.R., and Schmidt, V.H., Synthesis and characterization of proton-conducting Ba(Zr0.8-xCexY0.2)O2.9 ceramics. Solid State Ionics, 2009.
Tsai, C.-L., Kopczyk, M., Smith, R.J., and Schmidt, V.H., Low temperature sintering of Ba(Zr0.8-xCexY0.2)O3-d using lithium fluoride additive.Solid State Ionics, 2009.
Todt, M. Development of anode supported solid oxide fuel cells. in REU. 2009.
Schmidt, V.H. and Lediaev, L.M., Pressure and Gas Concentration Effects on Voltage vs. Current Characteristics of a Solid State Fuel Cell and Electrolyzer, in Advances in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells IV. 2009, Wiley: Hoboken, NJ. p. 105-115.
2008
Piccardo, P., Fontana, S., Amendola, R., Chevalier, S., Caboche, G., and Gannon, P.E., Interconnect Materials for Next-Generation Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (In Press). Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, 2008. 39(4): p. 545-551
Chen, H., Lucas, J., Priyantha, W., Kopczyk, M., Smith, R.J., Lund, K., Key, C., Finsterbusch, M., Gannon, P.E., Deibert, M.C., Gorokhovsky, V.I., Shutthanandan, V., and Nachimuthu, P., Thermal Stability and Oxidation Resistance of TiCrAIYO coatings on SS430 for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Interconnect Applications. Surface and Coatings Technology, 2008. 2008(202): p. 4820-4824.
Gannon, P.E., Deibert, M.C., Gorokhovsky, V.I., White, M.D., Smith, R.J., Chen, H., Priyantha, W., Lucas, J., and Gorokhousky, V. Advanced PVD Protective Coatings for SOFC Interconnects. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2008. 33(14): p. 3991-4000
Rufner, J., Gannon, P.E., White, M.D., Deibert, M.C., Teintze, S., Smith, R.J., and Chen, H., Oxidation behavior of Stainless Steel 430 and 441 at 800oC in Single (air-only) and Dual Atmosphere (air/hydrogen) Exposures. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2008. 33(4): p. 1392-1398.
Piccardo, P., Gannon, P.E., Chevalier, S., Viviani, M., and Barbucci, A., ASR Evaluation of Different Kinds of Coatings on Ferritic Stainless Steel as SOFC Interconnects. Surface and Coatings Technology, 2008. 202: p. 1221-1225.
Gannon, P.E., Kayani, A., Ramana, C.V., Deibert, M.C., Smith, R.J., and Gorokhovsky, V.I., Simulated Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Interconnect Performance of Crofer 22 APU With and Without Filtered Arc Cr-Al-O-N Coatings. Electrochemical and Solid State Letters, 2008. 11(4): p. B54-B58.
Gannon, P.E., Wang, C., and Nehrir, M.H., Present Challenges and Future of Fuel Cells, in Power Electronics for Distributed Power Generation, M.H. Nehrir, Editor. 2008, IEEE-Wiley Press.
Lussier, A., Sofie, S.W., Dvorak, J., and Idzerda, Y.U., Mechanism for SOFC Anode Degradation from Hydrogen Sulfide Exposure.International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2008. 33: p. 3945-3951.
Lussier, A., Dvorak, J., Stadler, S., Holroyd, J., Liberati, M., Arenholz, E., Ogale, S.B., Wu, T., Venkatesan, T., and Idzerda, Y.U., Stress Relaxation of La1/2Sr1/2MnO3 and La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 at SOFC Interfaces. Thin Solid Films, 2008. 516: p. 880-884.
Wang, C. and Nehrir, M.H., Power Management of Stand-Alone Wind/Photovoltaic/Fuel-Cell Energy Systems. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 2008. 23(3): p. 957-967.
Schmidt, V.H. and Tsai, C.-L., Anode-pore tortuosity in solid oxide fuel cells found from gas and current flow rates. Journal of Power Sources, 2008. 180: p. 253-264.
Gentile, P. and Sofie, S.W., High Performance Interleaved Electrolyte Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cell. Journal of Power Sources, 2008.
Ator, D. and Sofie, S.W., Robust Copper Braze for the Hermetic Sealing of Planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. Journal of Material Science, 2008.
Schmidt, V.H., Dynamic First-principles Molecular-scale Model for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. Electrochemical Society Transactions, 2008. 6(21, Design of Electrode Structures): p. 11-24.
2007
Wang, C. and Nehrir, M.H., A Physically Based Dynamic Model for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 2007. 22(4): p. 887-897.
Piccardo, P., Gannon, P.E., Chevalier, S., Viviani, M., and Barbucci, A., ASR Evaluation of Different Kinds of Coatings on Ferritic Stainless Steel as SOFC Interconnects. Surface and Coatings Technology, 2007. 202(4-7): p. 1221-1225
Wang, C. and Nehrir, M.H., Fuel Cells and Load Transients: Fulfilling the Need for Transient Mitigation. IEEE Power & Energy Magazine, 2007. 5(1): p. 58-63.
Gannon, P.E., Gorokhovsky, V.I., Deibert, M.C., Smith, R.J., Chen, H., Priyantha, W., White, P.T., and Musz, E., Large Area Filtered Arc (Al, Cr, Ti, Co, Mn, Y) Nanocomposite Oxide Coatings on T430 Ferritic Steel: Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Interconnect Performance and Substrate Surface Finish Effects. Surface and Coatings Technology, 2007.
Viviani, M., Piccardo, P., Barbucci, A., Vladikova, D., Stoynov, Z., Gorokhovsky, V.I., and Gannon, P.E., Overview of Current Trends in SOFC Materials, in New Developments in Advanced Functional Ceramics, L. Mitoseriu, Editor. 2007, Transworld Research Network Publisher: Kerala, India.
Wang, C., and Nehrir, M.H., Short-Term Overloading Capability and Distributed Generation Applications of Solid oxide Fuel Cells. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 2007. 22(4): p. 898-906
Gannon, P.E., Ramana, C.V., Deibert, M.C., Smith, R.J., Gorokhovsky, V.I., Tripp, C., Shutthanandan, V., and Gelles, D., Simulated Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Interconnect Performance of Crofer 22 APU with and without Filtered Arc Cr-Al-O-N Coatings. Surface and Coatings Technology, 2007.
Gannon, P.E., Gorokhovsky, V.I., Deibert, M.C., Smith, R.J., Kayani, A., White, M.D., Yang, G.Z., McCready, D., Visco, S., Jacobson, C., and Kurokawa, H., Enabling Inexpensive Alloys as SOFC Interconnects: an Investigation into Hybrid Coating Technologies to Deposit Nanocomposite Functional Coatings on Ferritic Stainless Steels. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2007. 32(16): p. 3672-3681.
Viviani, M., Piccardo, P., Barbucci, A., Vladikova, D., Stoynov, Z., Gorokhovsky, V.I., and Gannon, P.E., Overview of Current Trends in SOFC Materials, in New Developments in Advanced Functional Ceramics, L. Mitoseriu, Editor. 2007, Transworld Research Network Publisher: Kerala, India.
Pasricha, S., Keppler, M., Shaw, S.R., and Nehrir, M.H., Comparison and Identification of Static Electrical Terminal Fuel Cell Models. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 2007. 22(4): p. 864-872.
Wang, C. and Nehrir, M.H., Load Transient Mitigation for Stand-Alone Fuel Cell Power Generation Systems. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 2007. 22(4): p. 864-872.
Wang, C. and Nehrir, M.H., A Physically Based Dynamic Model for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 2007. 22(4): p. 887-897.
Wang, C. and Nehrir, M.H., Short-Term Overloading Capability and Distributed Generation Applications of Solid Oxide-Fuel Cells. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 2007. 22(4): p. 898-906.
Wang, C. and Nehrir, M.H., Fuel Cells and Load Transients. IEEE Power & Energy Magazine, 2007. 5(1): p. 58-63.
Gannon, P.E., Deibert, M.C., White, P.T., Smith, R.J., Chen, H., Priyantha, W., Lucas, J., and Gorokhovsky, V.I., Advanced PVD Protective Coating for SOFC Interconnects. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2008.
Gorokhovsky, V.I., Bowman, C., Gannon, P.E., VanVorous, D., and Voevodin, A., Tribological Performance of Hybrid Filtered Arc-Magnetron Coatings. Part II: Tribological properties characterization. Surface and Coatings Technology, 2007. 201(14): p. 6228-6238.
2006
Pasricha, S. and Shaw, S.R., A Dynamic PEM Fuelcell Model. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 2006. 21(2): p. 484-490.
Smith, R.J., Hutchison, R., Kopczyk, M., Finsterbusch, M., Comouth, A., Lucas, J., Collins, C., Lund, K., Vrable, I., Buchanan, T.L., Priyantha, W., Chen, H., and Gorokhovsky, V.I., Applications of Ion Beam Analysis to Materials Characterization for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Research B, 2006.
Collins, C., Lucas, J., Buchanan, T.L., Kopczyk, M., Kayani, A., Gannon, P.E., Deibert, M.C., Smith, R.J., Choi, D.-S., and Gorokhovsky, V.I., Chromium Volatity of Coated and Uncoated Steel Interconnects for SOFCs. Surface and Coatings Technology, 2006. 201: p. 4467-4470.
Gorokhovsky, V.I., Gannon, P.E., Deibert, M.C., Smith, R.J., Kayani, A., Kopczyk, M., VanVorous, D., Yang, G.Z., Stevenson, J.W., Jacobson, C., Kurokawa, H., and Sofie, S.W., Deposition and Evaluation of Protective PVD Coatings on Ferritic Stainless-Steel SOFC Interconnects.Journal of Electrochemical Society 2006. 153(10): p. A1886-A1893.
Nehrir, M.H., Wang, C., and Shaw, S.R., Fuel Cells: Promising Devices for Distributed Generation. IEEE Power & Energy Magazine, 2006. 4(1).
Sharma, R. and Gao, H., Low Cost High Efficiency DC-DC Converter for Fuel Cell Powered Auxiliary Power Unit of a Heavy Vehicle. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, 2006. 21(3): p. 587-591.
Kayani, A., Buchanan, T.L., Kopczyk, M., Collins, C., Lucas, J., Lund, K., Hutchison, R., Gannon, P.E., Deibert, M.C., and Smith, R.J., Oxidation Resistance at 800 oC for Magnetron-Sputtered CrAIN Coatings on 430 Steel. Surface and Coatings Technology, 2006. 201: p. 4460-4466.
Kayani, A., Buchanan, T.L., Kopczyk, M., Collins, C., Lucas, J., Lund, K., Hutchison, R., Gannon, P.E., Deibert, M.C., Smith, R.J., Choi, D.-S., Gorokhovsky, V.I., and Shutthanandan, V., Oxidation Resistance of Magnetron-Sputtered CrAIN Coatings on 430 Steel at 800*C. Surface and Coatings Technology, 2006. 201: p. 4460-4466.
Kayani, A., Smith, R.J., Kopczyk, M., Gannon, P.E., Deibert, M.C., and Gorokhovsky, V.I., Oxidation Studies of CrAION Nanolayered Coatings on Steel Plates. Surface and Coatings Technology, 2006. 201: p. 1685-1694.
Zhu, T., Shaw, S.R., and Leeb, S.B., Transient Recognition Control for Hybrid Fuel Cell Systems. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 2006. 21(1): p. 195-201.
Gorokhovsky, V.I., Bowman, C., Gannon, P.E., VanVorous, D., Voevodin, A., Rutkowski, A., Muratore, C., Smith, R.J., Kayani, A., Gelles, D., Shutthanandan, V., and Trusov, B.G., Tribological Performance of Hybrid Filtered Arc-Magnetron Coatings. Part 1: Coating Deposition Process and Basic Coating Properties Characterization. Surface and Coatings Technology, 2006. 201(6): p. 3732-3747.
Gorokhovsky, V.I., Gannon, P.E., Deibert, M.C., Smith, R.J., Kayani, A., Kopczyk, M., VanVorous, D., Yang, G.Z., Stevenson, J.W., and Visco, S., Deposition and Evaluation of Protective PVD Coatings of Ferritic Stainless-Steel SOFC Interconnects. Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 2006. 153(10): p. A1886-A1893.
Kayani, A., Buchanan, T.L., Kopczyk, M., Collins, C., Lucas, J., Lund, K., Hutchison, R., Gannon, P.E., Deibert, M.C., Smith, R.J., Choi, D.-S., and Gorokhovsky, V.I., Oxidation Resistance of Magnetron-Sputtered CrAIN Coatings on 430 Steel at 800*C. Surface and Coatings Technology, 2006. 201(7): p. 4460-4466.
Collins, C., Lucas, J., Buchanan, T.L., Kopczyk, M., Kayani, A., Gannon, P.E., Deibert, M.C., Smith, R.J., Choi, D.-S., and Gorokhovsky, V.I., Chromium Volatility of Coated and Uncoated Steel Interconnects for SOFCs Surface and Coatings Technology, 2006. 201(7): p. 4467-4470.
Nelson, D.B., Nehrir, M.H., and Wang, C., Unit Sizing and Cost Analysis of Stand-Alone Hybrid Wind/PV/Fuel Cell Power Generation Systems. Renewable Energy, 2006. 31(10): p. 1641-1656.
Wang, C., Nehrir, M.H., and Gao, H., Control of PEM Fuel Cell Distributed Generation Systems. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 2006. 21(2): p. 586-595.
Kayani, A., Smith, R.J., Teintze, S., Kopczyk, M., Gannon, P.E., Deibert, M.C., Gorokhovsky, V.I., and Shutthanandan, V., Oxidation Studies of CrAION Nanolayered Coatings on Steel Plates. Surface and Coatings Technology, 2006. 201(3-4): p. 1685-1694.
Pasricha, S., Nehrir, M.H., and Shaw, S.R., A Comparison of Static Electric Terminal Fuel Cell Models. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 2007. 22(3).
2005
Dvorak, J., Idzerda, Y.U., Ogale, S.B., Shinde, S., Wu, T., Venkatesan, T., Godfrey, R., and Ramesh, R., Are Stain-Induced Effects Truly Strain Induced? A Comprehensive Study of Strained LCMO Thin Films. Journal of Applied Physics, 2005. 97(10).
Wang, C., Nehrir, M.H., and Shaw, S.R., Dynamic Models and Model Validation for PEM Fuel Cells using Electric Circuits. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 2005. 20(2).
Negusse, E. and Idzerda, Y.U., Extraction of Roughness Parameters from Specular X-Ray Resonant Scattering. Journal of Applied Physics, 2005. 97(10).
Maheswaran, S., Thevuthasan, S., Gao, F., Shutthanandan, V., Wang, C., and Smith, R.J., Misfit Dislocations at the Single-Crystal Fe203/AI203 Interface. Physics Review, 2005. 72(7).
Nelson, D.B., Nehrir, M.H., and Gerez, V., Economic Evaluation of Grid-Connected Fuel-Cell Systems. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 2005. 20(2): p. 452-458.
Wang, C., Nehrir, M.H., and Shaw, S.R., Dynamic models and Model Validation for PEM Fuel Cells Using Electrical Circuits. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 2005. 20(2): p. 442-451.
2004
Gannon, P.E., Tripp, C., Knospe, A., Ramana, C.V., Deibert, M.C., Smith, R.J., Gorokhovsky, V.I., Shutthanandan, V., and Gelles, D., High-tempurature Oxidation Resistance and Surface Electrical Conductivity of Stainless Steels with Filtered arc Cr-Al-N and/or Superlattice coatings. Surface and Coatings Technology, 2004. 188-189(1-3): p. 55-61.
Gao, H., Salmasi, F.R., and Ehsani, M., Inductance Model Based Sensorless Control of the Switched Reluctance Motor Drive at Low Speed.IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, 2004. 19(6): p. 1568-1573.
Smith, R.J., Tripp, C., Knospe, A., Ramana, C.V., Kayani, A., Gorokhovsky, V.I., Shutthanandan, V., and Gelles, D., Using CrAIN Multilayer Coatings to Improve Oxidation Resistance of Steel Interconnects for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stacks. Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance, 2004. 13(3): p. 295-302.
Gannon, P.E., Tripp, C., Knospe, A., Ramana, C.V., Deibert, M.C., Smith, R.J., Gorokhovsky, V.I., Shutthanandan, V., and Gelles, D., High-temperature Oxidation Resistance and Surface Electrical Conductivity of Stainless Steels with Filtered arc Cr-Al-N Multilayer and/or superlattice Coatings. Surface and Coatings Technology, 2004. 188/189: p. 55-61.
Smith, R.J., Tripp, C., Knospe, A., Ramana, C.V., Kayani, A., Gorokhovsky, V.I., Shutthanandan, V., and Gelles, D., Using CrAIN Multilayer Coatings to Improve Oxidation Resistance of Steel Interconnects for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stacks. Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance, 2004. 13(3): p. 295-302.