ENDURANCE stands for ENhanced DURability materials for Advanced stacks of New solid oxide fuel CElls.
ENDURANCE aims to develop reliable predictive models to estimate long-term (20 thousand hours and more) performance and probability of failure of solid oxide fuel cell stacks based on existing materials.
ENDURANCE is original because it proposes to detect the earliest signals of fuel cell stack failure and actually "heal" it before happening through Early Warning Output Signals triggered counterstrategies.
ENDURANCE is beneficial because it will allow for the production of solid oxide fuel cell stacks with extended lifetime and reduced maintenance costs using existing materials.
ENDURANCE has now concluded. Access and explore the project and its dissemination deliverables, which present and further our knowledge about fuel cells in an original and attractive manner: play the "Serious Game", explore the "Handbook of Testing Procedures and Protocols", and access cutting edge research on degradation and durability of SOFCs through the Workshop Proceedings.
ENDURANCE is a Seventh Framework Programme project under the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking. It stands for "ENhanced DURability materials for Advanced stacks of New solid oxide fuel CElls".
ENDURANCE aims at developing reliable predictive models to estimate long-term (i.e. > 20 kh) performance and probability of failure of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks based on existing materials. This will allow the realization of stacks with extended service intervals and reduced maintenance cost with respect to the present stack technology. The extension of service life will be supported by the introduction of Early Warning Output Signals triggered counterstrategies.
The fuel cell stack has to be observed and understood as a complex system of components all interacting within each other and not as an association of single standalone components. This is the greatest challenge in the ENDURANCE project, since it is of vital importance to the creation of a powerful predictive model for SOFC stack operation.
The fuel cell stack is a system of interfaces/interphases where complex phenomena occur. The project aims to isolate, break down, and separate them in single phenomena processes. These "single phenomena" are generated by the minimum of interfaces/interphases in a quasi-independent way and therefore suitable for a separate deep investigation via micro-sample studies. To overcome this important challenge the team of ENDURANCE researchers works together to understand how to separate the minimum interphases/interfaces to be studied separately by single sample rigs and by segmented stacks.
The achievement of technical and research goals of the ENDURANCE project call for a multi-disciplinary and complementary action. With respect to that point, this project should associate many different areas of competence including materials science (ceramics and metals), processing and manufacturing, advanced characterization, multi-level modelling. The consortium of the present project is carefully built-up with teams that have demonstrated set of expertise and experience recognized at the international level in their relevant area which forms a value added chain for the realization of this project. With 7 research organizations and 4 industrial partners (3 SMEs and 1 larger industry) consortium covers the whole spectrum of competences needed both for technological improvement and industrial exploitation of SOFC stacks. List of Partners...