Recent advances in solid oxide cell technology for electrolysis

In a world powered by intermittent renewable energy, electrolyzers will play a central role in converting electrical energy into chemical energy, thereby decoupling the production of transport fuels and chemicals from today’s fossil resources and decreasing the reliance on bioenergy. Solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) offer two major advantages over alternative electrolysis technologies. First, their high operating temperatures result in favorable thermodynamics and reaction kinetics, enabling unrivaled conversion efficiencies. Second, SOECs can be thermally integrated with downstream chemical syntheses, such as the production of methanol, dimethyl ether, synthetic fuels, or ammonia. SOEC technology has witnessed tremendous improvements during the past 10 to 15 years and is approaching maturity, driven by advances at the cell, stack, and system levels.