High Durability Solid Oxide Electrolyser Stacks with Enhanced Coated Interconnects and Metal Ion Infiltrated Electrodes - HiDroConnect

Hydrogen, and specifically green hydrogen can play a key role in decarbonisation, as it has the potential to be used as fuel for power and transportation. Water electrolysis, and in particular solid oxide electrolysis, is attractive due to its high energy efficiency. There are challenges related to the performance, lifetime, durability and cost of solid oxide electrolysers, along with their scale-up from kW to MW level. The interconnect plays an important role with in the electrolyser stack as a current collector and a physical barrier that separates the electrodes between cells. It has to meet strict technical requirements within the harsh operating environment of the solid oxide electrolyser. One of the challenges with using steel interconnects is the evaporation of chromium from the interconnect, leading to chromium poisoning of the air electrode and degradation of the electrolyser performance. This project aims to address this issue and to enhance the durability of solid oxide electrolyser stacks by using PVD-coated interconnects and metal-ion infiltrated electrodes.