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AIST Introduces Sugar Cube-Sized Fuel Cell

February 19, 2009 By 7 Comments
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The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) recently developed a surprisingly attractive solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The sugar cube-sized SOFC, which is made up of 25 needle-like modules measuring 0.8 mm, packs a serious punch due to a high ratio of electrode area to volume. And since small size means a small heat capacity, the module also has a low operating temperature.

While other SOFC’s operate between 700 and 1,000° C, AIST’s module works at only 500° C. The fuel cell’s low absolute value of thermal expansion also means a quick start-up time of five minutes or less.

The new SOFC will likely be used by automotive CPUs, but could one day provide power to fuel cell vehicles. AIST’s mini-fuel cell is currently on display at the 2009 International Nanotechnology Exhibition and Conference in Tokyo, Japan.

Photo Credit: TechOn!

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  • http://www.fuelcellmarkets.com db

    A micro SOFC fuel cell powered of propane that starts quickly and runs at low temperature compared to most of the competition ! It sounds promising. I would be interested to know what the power output is. I would also be interested to know if they have managed to build a system around it. (fuel processing, power management, heat management) I would imagine that there might be issues from the parasitic load of the system and the need for small components.

    They might want to talk to ENrG who have a new flexible temperature tolerant membranes that would go nicely in a SOFC system which needs to be cycled on & off.

    http://www.fuelcellmarkets.com/1,1,9484.html

    I know a company called Versa who have stacks ready for vehicles. http://www.fuelcellmarkets.com/Versa_Power_Systems/1,1,2469.html

    http://www.fuelcellmarkets.com/1,1,9484.html

  • http://www.fuelcellmarkets.com db

    A micro SOFC fuel cell powered of propane that starts quickly and runs at low temperature compared to most of the competition ! It sounds promising. I would be interested to know what the power output is. I would also be interested to know if they have managed to build a system around it. (fuel processing, power management, heat management) I would imagine that there might be issues from the parasitic load of the system and the need for small components.

    They might want to talk to ENrG who have a new flexible temperature tolerant membranes that would go nicely in a SOFC system which needs to be cycled on & off.

    http://www.fuelcellmarkets.com/1,1,9484.html

    I know a company called Versa who have stacks ready for vehicles. http://www.fuelcellmarkets.com/Versa_Power_Systems/1,1,2469.html

    http://www.fuelcellmarkets.com/1,1,9484.html

  • http://www.fuelcellmarkets.com db

    A micro SOFC fuel cell powered of propane that starts quickly and runs at low temperature compared to most of the competition ! It sounds promising. I would be interested to know what the power output is. I would also be interested to know if they have managed to build a system around it. (fuel processing, power management, heat management) I would imagine that there might be issues from the parasitic load of the system and the need for small components.

    They might want to talk to ENrG who have a new flexible temperature tolerant membranes that would go nicely in a SOFC system which needs to be cycled on & off.

    http://www.fuelcellmarkets.com/1,1,9484.html

    I know a company called Versa who have stacks ready for vehicles. http://www.fuelcellmarkets.com/Versa_Power_Systems/1,1,2469.html

    http://www.fuelcellmarkets.com/1,1,9484.html

  • http://optimism.thorscave.com Thor

    Solid acid fuel cells (SAFC) are also looking promising.

    http://tinyurl.com/atro99

  • http://optimism.thorscave.com Thor

    Solid acid fuel cells (SAFC) are also looking promising.

    http://tinyurl.com/atro99

  • Supriya Sharma

    This might just be the worst image ever published on CleanTechnica

  • Supriya Sharma

    This might just be the worst image ever published on CleanTechnica

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