News

TIAX Wins NIST Fuel Cell Development Contract

July 30, 2003 by Jeff Shepard

TIAX LLC (Cambridge, MA), a leading collaborative product and technology development firm, announced it has been awarded a $2 million contract from the US Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to help advance the development of solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFC). Under the contract, which is administered by the Institute's Advanced Technology Program, TIAX will undertake a three-year project to increase the viability and commercialization of SOFC.

Successful implementation of the project could allow for lower SOFC costs, making them competitive with most small and stationary diesel technologies such as auxiliary power units (APUs), and enabling more efficient and reliable delivery of clean electric power. The fuel cells could be used in a wide range of applications, from APUs for trucks to residential distributed power units. Target markets are expected to be worth a combined total of $3 billion to $6 billion annually.

The first phase of the project will identify novel interconnect materials for SOFCs, which have thermal characteristics matched to the rest of the fuel cell and high thermal conductivity needed for thermal cycling and tolerance to thermal variations within the fuel cell. The second phase of the project will commence after the necessary components are designed and will involve the construction and demonstration of a 1kW power generation system.