The Design and Integration of the Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems 1MW SOFC

Abstract

Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems (RRFCS) is developing a 1MW fuel cell hybrid system package, supported by a prototype demonstration of a 250kW generator module in 2006. The ongoing design process has been focused from the early stages towards simplicity as a key to achieve the demanding cost targets for an effective market entry. This paper describes how the specifically designed components are being integrated as a system. A description of the progress against the demonstration plan is provided. The baseline plant is expected to provide excellent part-load performance in an extensive range of operating conditions, while a modular architecture guarantees availability and reliability. Finally, opportunities for further increases in efficiency and power density are discussed, as the technology evolves towards a next generation product.

Operating characteristics of a 5kW class anode-supported planar SOFC stack for a fuel cell/gas turbine hybrid system

“…A more advanced PH300 system was developed on the basis of the lessons learned from PH220 [3]. Aside from this system, which is based on tubular-type SOFC stacks, another hybrid system is being developed on the basis of a Rolls-Royce integrated planar SOFC stack [4].…”

Influence of steam injection through exhaust heat recovery on the design performance of solid oxide fuel cell — gas turbine hybrid systems

“…Therefore, a high cell temperature is preferred for a higher system performance. The cell temperatures of currently available SOFC stacks aimed at hybrid systems application range from 850 to 1000 o C [2,3,4]. In this study, a representative cell temperature of 900 o C is adopted.…”

“…Fuel cells can be designed to operate either at an ambient pressure (ambient pressure system) or at an elevated pressure (pressurized system). Until now, more design efforts have been given to the pressurized system [2,3]. However, the need for developing ambient pressure hybrid SOFC systems has also been recognized [4].…”

Integration of A Solid Oxide Fuel Cell into A 10 MW Gas Turbine Power Plant

“…There are only a few prototype hybrid power plants in existence [3][4][5], primarily because of the prohibitive cost of SOFC technology, so researchers resort to mathematical modeling to predict the performance of hybrid power plants. Typical thermodynamic models are based on mass and energy balances across various components, normally treated as zero dimensional.…”

“…Most existing SOFC-GT hybrid plants are in the kW range [3][4][5], however larger plants have been modeled in the literature. Chan et al [22] considered a 1.3 MW plant, which consisted of a SOFC stack with 40,000 tubular cells.…”