Advances on the Way to a Stationary Hybrid Power Plant

Abstract

The demand for electrical energy is growing continually. In order to meet this demand in future power plants with high efficiency and low emissions are needed such as a hybrid power plant consisting of an SOFC system combined with a gas turbine which offers electrical efficiencies of up to 60% at a wide range of applications from kW to MW. One mayor advantage of this combination is that it can be operated on natural gas from the existing grid. Efficiencies have been shown to be highest if the SOFC subsystem is pressurized. This and the requirements due to the interaction with the gas turbine lead to a need to exactly understand the behavior of SOFC at elevated pressures. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is aiming to demonstrate stable operation of such a hybrid power plant and is currently examining the behavior, requirements and limits of the subsystems.