Program Description:
Innovation Need:
Centralized power generators such as natural gas combined cycle plants have historically offered higher electrical efficiencies than smaller generators. There are several key disadvantages, however, including significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, transmission and distribution losses averaging, and grid vulnerability to natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Distributed energy resources (DER), including renewable technologies such as solar photovoltaics and wind as well as conventional technologies such as gas turbines and reciprocating engines, are becoming increasingly valued due to attributes such as reduced greenhouse gas emissions, peak load reduction, and enhanced resiliency. That said, the intermittency of renewable DERs once widely deployed will present challenges in terms of grid stability, such as short severe ramps, overgeneration, and decreased frequency response. The REBELS program seeks to create intermediate temperature fuel cells (ITFCs) with lower costs than current high- and low-temperature fuel cells, as well as create new electrochemical functionality, including battery-like response to transient loads and electrochemical production of liquid fuels that could benefit future needs of the grid such as renewables integration. This program builds on materials advances over the past decade that have broadened the number of available electrolytes and electrodes beyond traditional PEM and SOFC temperature ranges. The REBELS program aims to bring together different scientific communities, such as fuel cell materials scientists, inorganic and polymer chemists, researchers working on novel approaches to activate carbon/hydrogen bonds for fuel processing, and experts in fuel cell fabrication methods to quickly advance ITFCs to working prototypes and engage with stakeholders who can drive these devices towards market adoption. ARPA-E also aims to fundamentally alter the paradigm of fuel cell systems by creating new functionality in fuel cell technology.
Potential Impact:
If successful, the REBELS program would create new fuel cell options for distributed generation applications, enabling grid stability and increased penetration of renewable energy sources.
Security:
Developing fuel cell technologies that provide low-cost, distributed power generation would reduce our reliance on large, centralized power plants and thereby reduce our vulnerability to large-scale power disruptions.
Environment:
Intermediate-temperature fuel cells could produce power with fewer emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.
Economy:
Efficient fuel cells for distributed power generation running on natural gas could offer significant cost savings in the long run relative to existing combustion technologies and provide greater reliability and resiliency to businesses.
Contact
Project Listing
• Colorado School of Mines - Fuel-Flexible Protonic Ceramic Fuel Cell Stack
• FuelCell Energy - Liquid Fuels and Electricity from Intermediate-Temperature Fuel Cells
• Georgia Tech Research Corporation - Fuel Cell Tailored for Efficient Utilization of Methane
• Materials & Systems Research, Inc. (MSRI) - Electrogenerative Cells for Flexible Cogeneration of Power and Liquid Fuel
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) - Nanocomposite Electrodes for a Solid Acid Fuel Cell Stack
• Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) - Reformer-less Fuel Cell
• Redox Power Systems - Low-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
• SAFCell - Solid Acid Fuel Cell Stack
• SiEnergy Systems - Hybrid Fuel Cell-Battery System
• United Technologies Research Center (UTRC) - Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stack
• University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Fuel Cells with Dynamic Response Capability
• University of South Carolina - Bi-functional Ceramic Fuel Cell Energy System