Fraunhofer IKTS inaugurates new test centre with FuelCon test systems

The Fraunhofer-Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS) located in Dresden (Germany), has recently opened its new SOFC test centre for verifying the practical performance of SOFC stacks and systems with the help of FuelCon’s test stations. At the inauguration of the test centre, the IKTS described the advanced stage of maturation of ceramic fuel cells as the main reason for establishing the new testing centre. During the following tour through the new-build facility, the invited guests were able to witness the ultra-modern test laboratory that is equipped with several Evaluator-S test systems as well as an autonomous gas supply.

The testing stations include sophisticated process engineering with fuel gas and air pre-heater and are also equipped with integrated impedance analyzers from FuelCon’s diagnostic line TrueData plus several additional features. This enables Fraunhofer IKTS to analyze the long-term performance, duty cycle stability and poisoning durability of SOFC fuel cells.  In addition, the Evaluator test systems allow the simulation of various gas scenarios. The performance test results from the Evaluator test stations will contribute to the further optimization of high temperature fuel cells and their application in decentralized power supply and Auxiliary Power Units (APU).  It is anticipated that this will lead to a growing support for SOFC fuel cells as a widespread, environmental-friendly alternative e.g. for household energy supply.

Source: Fuel Cell Today