Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Climate change presents towering challenges for humankind. Yet demand for electricity is rising worldwide. Bosch has found a way to balance the scales — its climate-friendly stationary solid oxide fuel cells are the key to finally making fossil fuels a thing of the past. This SOFC system is slated for market launch in 2024. An electrochemical reaction in the SOFC generates electricity and heat. Ceres Power, a UK company specializing in fuel cells, developed the prototype. Bosch has turned this revolutionary innovation into a universally deployable, high-performance system that can be mass-produced. It can help satisfy the world’s appetite for electricity in a sustainable way. A single SOFC system generates 10 kW of power, which is enough to provide more than 20 four-person households with all the electricity they need. It delivers around 87,000 kWh of electrical power a year. Bosch’s powerful fuel cells are the heart of this system. With an efficiency rating higher than 60 percent, the SOFC is indeed the front-runner when it comes to electrical efficiency. In fact, its overall efficiency climbs to over 85 percent when the generated heat is put to productive use. A coal-fired power plant achieves just 40 percent and a gas-fired power plant 45 percent. Any number of individual units can be connected to create virtual power plants. Organised in a larger network, these plants can collectively respond to and meet fluctuating demand for electricity. This is why SOFC systems lend themselves to powering commercial buildings, industrial parks, data centers, clinics, universities, e-vehicle charging stations, and modern urban neighborhoods.