Automated mass-manufacturing and quality assurance of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell stacks

qSOFC project combines leading European companies and research centres in stack manufacturing value-chain with two companies specialized in production automation and quality assurance to optimize the current stack manufacturing processes for mass production.

Currently the state-of-the-art SOFC system capital expenditure (capex) is 7000…8000 €/kW of which stack is the single most expensive component. This proposal focuses on SOFC stack cost reduction and quality improvement by replacing manual labour in all key parts of the stack manufacturing process with automated manufacturing and quality control.

This will lead to stack cost of 1000 €/kW and create a further cost reduction potential down to 500 €/kW at mass production (2000 MW/year). 

The main approach to achieve the above mentioned objectives is a close collaboration between leading European companies and research centres to create an efficient value chain.

This project combines the leading European companies in SOFC stack production value-chain with two highly experienced companies specialized in production automation and quality assurance.