Large-area 3D printed electrolyte-supported reversible solid oxide cells

Solid Oxide Cells are highly efficient energy conversion devices for power generation, in fuel cell mode, and energy storage, in electrolysis mode. This multi-layer ceramic device is currently fabricated with state-of-the-art manufacturing processes such as tape casting and screen-printing. Alternatively, ceramic 3D printing technologies such as stereolithography or robocasting have demonstrated their potential to fabricate enhanced electrochemical cells by employing an additive manufacturing approach able to create complex shapes, hierarchical structures or improved interfaces by design while reducing the amount of waste material. In this work, large-area solid oxide cells of 25 cm2 (16 cm2 of active area) were fabricated by 3D-printing electrolyte supports made of yttria-stabilized zirconia combined with composite electrodes based on nickel and lanthanum strontium manganite for the fuel and oxygen electrodes, respectively. Electrochemical characterization of such electrolyte-supported solid oxide cells was carried out in fuel cell and electrolysis modes. In fuel cell operation mode, a maximum power of 3.5 W (corresponding to a peak power density of 220 mW/cm2) was measured at 950°C while in electrolysis mode, the cell was able to operate at 7.3W with a maximum injected current of -5.6 A at 1.3V (corresponding to 340 mA/cm2). A galvanostatic degradation test carried out at 900°C over 1150h in SOFC mode proved a remarkable low degradation rate of 11 mV kh−1 confirming the robustness of the cell produced by 3D printing and the interest of further exploiting the advantages of improvements generated by design.