Samaria‐doped ceria solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) single cells have demonstrated power densities > 250 mW / cm 2 at 700°C and stable performance for 15,000 h. Though encouraging, issues of stack performance and efficiency due to mixed conduction remain. Stacks operated on H 2 / 3 % H 2 O show approximately half the power density expected from single cells. A coupled thermal‐electrochemical model which included conduction heat transfer in the solid and convection to the reactant gases was developed. The model was used to predict stack efficiencies using ceria‐based SOFCs in power plant applications. Analyses indicate that ceria SOFCs may provide as high as 42% electrical efficiency when operated on humidified hydrogen fuel. These efficiencies are surprisingly high and challenge the notion that mixed conductors are unsuitable for such applications.
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Milliken et al. (1999) studied this question.