<i>(High-Temperature Energy, Materials, &amp; Processes Division Subhash Singhal Award)</i> Solid Oxide Technology Development for Industry and Commercialisation Over the Last Three Decades: Lessons from the Past and Trends for the Future

This presentation will discuss some of the key technology development in industry related to commercialisation of Solid Oxide technology over the last three decades – from anode supported cells to metal supported solid oxide cell based products, from zirconia to ceria based electrolytes and key systems application development trends from stationary to transportation applications, new markets in residential distributed generation and data centres to recent trends in green hydrogen electrolysis for hard to abate sectors like ammonia, steel and e-fuels. This presentation will discuss my development journey starting at Delphi Corporation, in the late 1990s where I was part of the team that developed the “first of its kind” SOFC based Auxiliary Power Unit (APUs) for a BMW passenger car and subsequently for long haul trucks. The presentation will discuss Delphi’s collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the development of the anode supported cell, stack and systems technology under the US Department of Energy’s SECA (Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance) funded program. It was a pioneering effort in the development and maturity of Solid Oxide technology and product development in the US and globally. This presentation will also discuss our work at Ceres Power Limited over the last decade with a novel and differentiated metal supported solid oxide technology – including the technical and the commercial growth of the company. Ceres has grown to be a world-leading developer of fuel cell and electrolyser technology that enables its license partners to deliver clean energy products at scale and speed. Our metal supported SteelCell® can generate power from conventional fuels, such as natural gas, and from sustainable fuels including hydrogen playing a vital role in the energy transition. We are now developing our technology for electrolysers for green hydrogen production and are becoming one of the leaders in this field for applications in hard-to abate sectors. I will discuss the licensing strategy at Ceres and how it has attracted some of the best product companies, such as Denso, Doosan, Delta, Weichai and Thermax, who have elected to take licences to access our technology for multiple applications and are building factories in different parts of the world. I will also discuss lessons learned from the past and thoughts about future trends for the direction of travel for Solid Oxide technology and related product development and commercialisation.