SOEC in short
Topsoe Fuel Cell is also investigating the use of Solid Oxide Cell technology for Electrolysis (SOEC technology).
SOEC offers the possibility to electrolyze not only water, but also CO2 and mixtures of these, and with high efficiency.
SOEC: Reversing SOFC
SOEC operation is achieved by operating an SOFC unit in 'reverse mode': Instead of generating electricity from fuel with the biproducts water, CO2 and heat, the unit can be fed electricity, heat and steam to produce hydrogen. This is called electrolysis.
SOEC for storage of electrical energy
Storage of electrical energy is a generic challenge. Classical methods include batteries and gravitation (water reservoirs). SOEC offers an efficient alternative.
An emerging market for SOEC is seen in combination with load-leveling of electricity produced by wind turbines. In windy weather surplus electricity may be stored as hydrogen or even SNG in the existing infrastructure, and after - in still weather - the stored fuel may be converted to electricity using SOFC technology.
The benefits of SOEC in electrolysis
SOEC poses a number of benefits:
- high efficiency at the relatively high temperature
- co-production of CO for industrial purposes if water is replaced with CO2
- the process is instrumental in the production of syngas
If water is mixed with CO2, syngas is produced. Syngas is used widely in industry for production of a range of chemicals, for example synthetic fuels such as SNG.