Thin film applications in SOFC and P2X

 

Ceracos´s expertise in deposition of multi-component oxides quickly drew attention of institutes and companies active in the field of fuel cells and P2X, because common materials like Gadolinium doped Ceria (Ce0,8Gd0,2O2), Yttria-stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) or perovskite materials like Cerium or Yttrium doped BaZrO3 can easily be grown by  Electron Beam Physical Vapor Deposition on large area, what is essential for pracitcal applications.

 

Ceraco was partner in the European project EVOLVE (“Evolved materials and innovative design for high-performance, durable and reliable SOFC cell and stack”) from 2012 till 2017. Coordinator of EVOLVE was the DLR (German Aerospace Center).

In the project our task was to deposit thin and gas-tight electrolyte layers consisting of Gadolinium doped Ceria (Ce0,8Gd0,2O2) and Yttria-stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) by Electron Beam Physical Vapor Deposition on porous metal substrates.

 

 

Cross section of a fully processed SOFC showing the thin film electrolyte double layer consisting of GDC/YSZ developed in the project EVOLVE.

 

 

The French-German project ARCADE (“Advanced and Robust metal supported Cell with proton conducting ceramic for electrolysis Applications in Defossilized Energy systems”) started 2019. In this consortium ceraco is responsible for the growth of thin film electrolytes based on BaZrO3 materials doped with Cerium and/or Yttrium.