Metal Interconnects for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Power Systems

Interconnect development is identified by the US Department of energy as a key technical area requiring focused research to meet the performance and cost goals under the Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance initiative. In the Phase I SECA Core Technology Program, Ceramatec investigated a commercial ferritic stainless steel composition for oxidation resistance properties by measuring the weight gain when exposed to air at the fuel cell operating temperature. A pre-treatment process that results in a dense, adherent scale was found to reduce the oxide scale growth rate significantly. A process for coating the surface of the alloy in order to reduce the in-plane resistance and potentially inhibit chromium oxide evaporation was also identified. The combination of treatments provided a very low resistance through the scale. The resistance measured was as low as 10 milliohm-cm2 at 750 C in air. The oxide scale was also found to be stable in humidified air at 750 C. The resistance value was stable over several thermal cycles. A similar treatment and coating for the fuel side of the interconnect also showed an exceptionally low resistance of one milliohm-cm2 in humidified hydrogen at 750 c, and was stable through multiple thermal cycles. Measurement of interconnect resistance when it was exposed to both air and humidified hydrogen on opposite sides also showed low, stable resistance after additional modification to the pre-treatment process. Resistance stacks, using an interconnect stack with realistic gas flows, also provided favorable results. Chromium evaporation issue however requires testing of fuel stacks and was outside of the scope of this project. based on results to-date, the alloy selection and the treatment processes appear to be well suited for SOFC interconnect application