Research progress and opportunities in ammonia-fueled solid oxide fuel cells

doi:10.3969/j.issn.2097-0706.2025.10.002

Abstract

Abstract:

As a hydrogen energy carrier and zero-carbon fuel， ammonia is considered to have significant potential in clean energy power generation. The application status and future development directions of direct-ammonia solid oxide fuel cells （DA-SOFCs） are thoroughly discussed. DA-SOFCs are classified into oxygen-conducting （O-SOFCs） and proton-conducting （H-SOFCs） types. Their working principles are outlined， along with the selection of electrolyte and electrode materials and the ammonia decomposition process at the anode. The influence of electrolyte type， electrode materials， and operating temperature on cell performance is summarized. Performance differences and their underlying reasons among different DA-SOFC types using NH₃ as fuel are compared and analyzed. O-SOFCs can achieve efficient and synergistic ammonia cracking and electrochemical reactions under high-temperature conditions， but material constraints under such conditions limit their development. H-SOFCs demonstrate promising efficiency， yet face challenges including poor stability of electrolyte materials， weak nitridation resistance of the anode， and low efficiency of ammonia decomposition at lower temperatures.

Key words: ammonia fuel, solid oxide fuel cell, electrolyte, cell performance, anode nitridation, hydrogen energy carrier, zero-carbon fuel

CLC Number:

TK01：U473.4

MING Chuanwang, ZHAO Yuhao, LYU Youjun, LI Yihang. Research progress and opportunities in ammonia-fueled solid oxide fuel cells[J]. Integrated Intelligent Energy, 2025, 47(10): 10-25.

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参数	氢气	液氢	液氨
沸点/℃	25.0	-253.0	-33.4
氢质量分数/%	100.0	100.0	17.7
密度/(kg·m^-3)	39.0	70.8	600.0
体积能量密度/(MJ·L^-1)	5.6	8.6	12.9
爆炸极限（体积分数）/%	4~75	4~75	15~28
存储成本/(美元·kg^-1)	14.95		0.84
运输成本/(美元·kg^-1)	1.87		0.19
生产成本/(美元·kg^-1)	3.00		3.80

发表年份	论发表数量
1971—1980	7
1981—1990	43
1991—1995	34
1996—2000	58
2001—2005	76
2006—2010	158
2011—2015	136
2016—2020	358