NanoDynamics Energy Awarded $2.4 Million Contract from DOE For Development of 400-Watt SOFC

NanoDynamics Energy, Inc. has received a 15-month, $2.4 million contract from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the development of a 400-watt solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC).  The SOFC will be designed to operate on a variety of fuels, including hydrogen and methane gas.
 
The contract continues funding of a project begun in 2006 with the DOE’s Biomass program, under which NanoDynamics Energy developed a process to fabricate a single tubular cell capable of generating in excess of 20 watts.  These cells were then tested and assessed for performance on a variety of fuels, including hydrogen, methane and biogas fuels.
 
“As off-gas from waste treatment plants can vary widely in composition, and is subsequently considered a fairly low-quality fuel source, we tested the performance of our cells on a variety of gas compositions and found that across the board  they could maintain relatively stable and efficient performance,” said Dr. Caine Finnerty, vice president of energy products at NanoDynamics Energy. “These tests helped further demonstrate the feasibility of using low-quality fuels in SOFCs, and allowed us to advance our initial single-cell success into development of a small three-cell stack capable of operating on hydrogen, waste gas and propane.  This stack produced more than a 60-watt output on each of the fuels tested, and further underscored the inherent real-world advantages of SOFC technology.”
 
“We are enthusiastic to continue our work with the Department of Energy in advancing the development of a higher-output SOFC that can operate on numerous conventional and alternative fuel types,” said John Ruberto, president of NanoDynamics Energy Inc.  “This new contract will fund efforts to bundle the previously developed SOFCs into a 400-watt demonstration unit via a cost-effective manufacturing approach suitable for future scaling to larger systems.   The unit will also be designed to operate on a number of fuel types, including hydrogen and biofuels.”