The SOFC fuel cell
The Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) offers the possibility of exploiting fossil energy more efficiently and significantly reducing CO2 emissions in a domestic context. This technology allows hot water and electricity to be produced at the same time.
How it works
- a fuel: methane or propane,
- a comburent: oxygen,
- a catalyser: a pile of porous ceramic materials (solid oxides)
interact chemically. Produced by Saint-Gobain, these high-technology ceramic materials have the capacity of converting chemical energy directly into electrical energy and heat.
Concrete applications
The fuel cell could operate boilers supplied by domestic gas networks. But with a significantly higher yield than current solutions can provide. For boilers equipped with fuel cells, they would efficiently use up to 80% of the fuel (as opposed to 20 to 25% at present).
These boilers will also generate heat and electricity at the same time. Apart from hot water and heating, they will produce up to 30% of the electricity needed in an average home.
The advantages
The fuel cell offers major economic and environmental benefits.
- It enables a very real reduction in consumption resulting from better use of resources. "This means we will still be using fossil energy," stresses Didier Roux, director of research at Saint-Gobain, "but our dependence on these energies will be considerably reduced."
- It limits greenhouse gas emissions. "These boilers will emit up to 70% less CO2 than traditional methods," explains Didier Roux.
The first models should hit the market in the next few years, with volumes gradually ramping up to large scale distribution around 2020."
