Operation Experience with a 20 kW SOFC System

Systems based on planar SOFC stacks have a great potential to become compact high efficient power plants. At Forschungszentrum Jülich system technology is under development aiming at a 20 kW demonstration plant. An important challenge is to realize a compact and efficient system. To achieve this, Jülich has invented an Integrated Module, which incorporates all hot parts of the system. After a few years of development four stacks with a nominal power of 5 kW were assembled and characterized with proper quality. After integrating them into the system operation was started and 21.3 kW gross power were achieved. Because of a leakage in the periphery the test had to be interrupted after 550 h of operation under load. Because repair would have taken too long, the test was continued with two modules of 5 kW power each. The system was in operation under load for 4,000 h.