Thermal and electrochemical performance analysis of an integrated solar SOEC reactor for hydrogen production

Hydrogen can be produced efficiently by combining solar energy and solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC). This paper proposes an integrated solar SOEC reactor, which integrates a volumetric air receiver with a tubular SOEC. The hot air from the air receiver can directly heat the tubular SOEC and thus avoid transport heat loss. Under the reference condition, the reactor's water conversion ratio and energy conversion efficiency are 74.13% and 25.58%, respectively. The simulation results indicate that solar irradiation significantly affects the reactor's thermal and electrochemical performance. When the peak incident flux density of solar irradiation decreases from 0.49 MW/m2 to 0.21 MW/m2, the water conversion ratio and energy conversion efficiency drop by 96.41% and 84.49%, respectively. Adjusting the air flow rate may help maintain the reactor temperature to avoid a reduction in the water conversion ratio and energy conversion efficiency.