Staxera purchases FuelCon test stations

Staxera has purchased four FuelCon Evaluator test stations for the further improvement and optimization of their Integrated SOFC Modules (ISM), Staxera, a joint venture between H. C. Starck GmbH and Enerday GmbH located in Dresden (Germany), aims to develop SOFC stacks for series production both for mobile as well as stationary applications. The company is an independent supplier of both stacks and integrated SOFC modules, whose products are available for all interested system developers.

The ISM concept is based on a SOFC module with a thermally isolated cabinet (hot-box), and its design supports easy system integration. It is equipped with clearly defined interfaces for gases, sensors, electrical and current, and has optimally designed stack clamp disconnects.  The stack activation, operational procedures and thermal cycle test protocols that reflect real world stack operation are all automatically managed by the Evaluator S5-HT. With the development of the ISM, Staxera has dramatically simplified the system integration by customers. However, evaluating such a complex system requires a reliable, dynamic and flexible test system.

“The testing strategy for our stacks is very close to the requirements of the final application and reflects the behaviour in real SOFC systems. After extensive discussions based on our extensive experience with test equipment from different suppliers we feel confident that FuelCon is able to best realize our requirements and therefore support us in the short term in reaching our goal of providing our customers with robust and reliable SOFC Stacks. Furthermore, Staxera is already successfully using sintering stations developed by FuelCon” expresses Dr. Christian Wunderlich, Managing Director Staxera GmbH.

The hot-box test stations of the Evaluator S5-HT line allows the fully automated, unattended evaluation of the ISM’s long term behaviour, running real load cycles of typical stationary and mobile applications as well as performing detailed analysis of aging and degeneration processes. In addition, the test stations are particularly designed for hot-box systems with unique anode and cathode gas humidification allowing the simulation of various fuel gas and air supply scenarios. The necessary temperature for running the SOFC module is achieved through integrated air and fuel gas pre-heaters. Their design enables the operator to reproduce highly dynamic thermal cycles.

http://www.fuelcon.com/

Source: Fuel Cell Today