The Atomic Energy Council (AEC) yesterday touted its preliminary success on Solor Oxide Fuel Cell(固態氧化燃料電池, SOFC) research and development, saying that with government support, it hoped to launch commercial models of the batteries for the consumer market by 2010.
“As the global trend in energy is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase fuel efficiency, fuel cells are bound to be an important industry in the future, as they can be combined with clean coal technologies to produce efficient and green energy,” AEC Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (INER) fuel cell program manager Lee Chien-hsiung (李堅雄) said.
Fuel cells are a type of “battery” that employ electrochemical conversion to generate electricity, which can be used in a wide variety of applications including cars, retail stores and homes, Lee said, adding: “As fuel cells are showing a lot of promise for powering energy-demanding devices, the US government has made its research and development a flagship project.”
In Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, oxygen ions are transported through a thin layer of ceramic — which is used in the cells as electrolyte material — to react with fuels [such as natural gas, biofuel or diesel] and produce electricity through electrochemical reactions, Lee said.
The energy-efficiency of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells comes from the fact that unlike other types of fuel cells, such as proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), ceramics are used as electrolyte materials, so they can withstand extremely high temperatures.
“This means that the thermal byproduct of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells can be used to increase their fuel efficiency,” Lee said.
While the cell units themselves can reach as much as 60 percent fuel efficiency, the heat produced as a byproduct can be used to fire a secondary gas turbine, the hybrid system. This is called a combined heat and power (CHP) system and can produce an impressive 90 percent total efficiency, he said.
“To give people an idea of fuel efficiencies today, car engines currently have about 10 percent to 17 percent fuel to electric efficiency,” he added.
Fixing their eyes on the great potential of the cells, the INER started their Solid Oxide Fuel Cell program in 2003, Lee said, adding that after five years of hard work, the institute had successfully produced a 10cm by 10cm anode-supported cell (ASC) and metal-supported cell (MSC) that is on a par with international standards.
“The cells that we have produced can generate 500mW of electricity per square centimeter under operating conditions of 800°C. When the cell units are stacked, more powerful systems can be created … This year, we successfully created a 1kW system at the institute, with a goal of manufacturing 1kW to 5 kW units for residential or retail storefront applications by 2010,” Lee said.
However, Lee also said that the recent success was only the first step in mass producing the cells.
As Solid Oxide Fuel Cells are still in the developmental stage worldwide, Taiwan needs to aggressively invest in the technology to become competitive in the potentially lucrative future market for the cells, he said.
“The government plays an important role in fuel cell development, as, if subsidies are given, research in the field would be more rapidly conducted, and commercial sales of the units would be more accepted, which in turn would bring the cost of the batteries down and promote better and better models to be made,” he said.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
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