A team led by Prof. Joon Hyung Shim of Korea University and Prof. Jihwan Ahn of Seoul National University of Science and Technology

Paper on direct alcohol-fueled ceramic fuel cells named Best of 2019 in Energy Technology

▲ From left: Joon Hyung Shim (co-principal investigator (Korea University), co-corresponding author), Jihwan An (co-principal investigator (Seoul National University of Science and Technology), co-corresponding author), Junmo Koo (co-first author (Korea University)), Byung Chan Yang (co-first author (Seoul National University of Science and Technology))

Recently, ceramic fuel cells, among which solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) are the most well-known, have come into the spotlight. Ceramic fuel cells are recognized as a potential source of next-generation energy, thanks to their high efficiency and compatibility with fuels other than hydrogen. Using alcohol as a fuel for ceramic fuel cells can significantly improve mobility. Since alcohol is a liquid fuel, it is portable and can be conveniently stored without compression. Moreover, bioethanol is a sustainable eco-friendly resource that can be obtained from seaweed, and waste resources can also be used to produce bioethanol, a sustainable and eco-friendly option.

Led by Professor Joon Hyung Shim of the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering, and Professor Jihwan An of the Department of Manufacturing Systems and Design Engineering (MSDE) at Seoul National University of Science and Technology, the team published a review of the current direct alcohol-fueled ceramic fuel cell technology (entitled “Direct Alcohol-Fueled Low-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells: A Review”) in the prestigious Energy Technology ((IF : 3.163), Wiley) in January 2019. Their paper was named the Best of Energy Technology 2019, on February 26, 2020.

The journal selected its Best of Energy Technology 2019 based on the number of downloads and citations in 2019, and recommendations by journal editors.

Portable power systems that rely on alcohol-fueled ceramic fuel cells can store ten times the energy of lithium batteries of the same volume. They are also free from issues such as long charging times and energy loss due to charging/discharging. To utilize these advantages, Japan’s Nissan is developing SOFC electric vehicles that run on bioethanol.

Professor Shim said, “The key to success for portable fuel cells lies in the use of fuel that satisfies mobility, sustainability, and eco-friendliness. The combination of high-efficiency ceramic fuel cells and alcohol-fueled cells is expected to create synergy for energy mobility”

▲ (Figure) Schematic illustrations of alcohol-fueled SOFCs in the paper