A 5 x 5 cm2 protonic ceramic fuel cell with a power density of 1.3 W cm 2 at 600 degC
In spite of various advantages of protonic ceramic fuel cells over conventional fuel cells, distinct scepticism currently remains about their applicability because of lower than predicted performance and difficulty with scale up. These challenges mainly stem from the refractory nature of proton conducting ceramic electrolytes and the low chemical stability of these materials during the sintering process. Here, we present the fabrication of a physically thin, structurally dense and chemically homogeneous electrolyte, BaCe0.55Zr0.3Y0.15O3 d (BCZY3) through a facile anode assisted densification of the electrolyte on a structurally and compositionally uniform anode support, which resulted in breakthroughs in performance and scalability. A BCZY3 based protonic ceramic fuel cell with a size of 5 x 5 cm2 exhibits an area specific ohmic resistance of 0.09 O cm2 and delivers a power as high as 20.8 W per single cell at 600 degC.Protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs) operate at lower temperatures than solid oxide fuel cells but suffer from lower performances, especially during scale up. Here, the authors report a 25 cm2 PCFC based on a BaCe0.55Zr0.3Y0.15O3 d electrolyte that displays a record high power density of 20.8 W at 600 degC.