Dr. Harry Abernathy, NETL
Technical Portfolio Lead for SOFC, SOEC research Thermal Sciences Team
The US Department of Energy’s Hydrogen Shot goal aims for a $1/kg price for the production of hydrogen by 2030. In research supported by the DOE’s H2NEW national lab consortium on electrolysis and by the Reversible Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (R-SOFC) program, NETL uses its capabilities in systems analysis, electrochemical device performance simulation, and high temperature electrochemistry to determine the technological advances that need to be made to meet the Hydrogen Shot goal using high temperature electrolysis. On the device level, significant reductions in hydrogen production cost can come from making electrolyzers that can operate at higher current densities and can last longer before being replaced. This talk will give examples of research efforts at NETL to produce higher performing and more durable electrodes for high temperature electrolyzers through efforts such as computationally guided materials design, microstructure optimization, and catalyst infiltration. Besides producing hydrogen from steam using electricity, high temperature electrolyzers can also be run as fuel cells, generating electricity from hydrogen or hydrocarbon fuels. The opportunities for and advantages of operating these cells reversibly (switching between fuel cell and electrolysis mode) will also be discussed.