TK Stainless

84 MaGaZine high-performance materials
CLean enerGy in the form
of heat and electricity is supplied
by fuel cells.
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enerGy sourCe oF The FuTure
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Fuel cells, the innovative energy source of the future, supply
clean energy in the form of heat and electricity. Extremely
energy-efficient, these ‘mini-power plants’ are on the advance.
The German hydrogen and fuel cell association DWV expects fuel
cells to be used ‘very soon’ in portable electronic devices such
as laptops, phones and chargers, and predicts a breakthrough in
the auto industry ‘before the turn of the decade.’ Crofer 22 H, a
new material from ThyssenKrupp VDM, is a key material in this
promising technology.
The best known form of fuel cell is the polymer fuel
cell, which uses pure hydrogen and atmospheric oxygen. A
second variant, the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), also known as
high-temperature fuel cell, can be operated both with hydrogen
and with diesel. “The advantage of this technology is obvious:
Hydrogen is not yet available everywhere, but diesel fuels are,”
says Dr. Heike Hattendorf, project manager at ThyssenKrupp
VDM. “Applications include auxiliary units to provide additional
electricity in cars, trucks, ships and mobile homes as well as
household power supplies and power plants.”
SOFC technology places great demands on the hightemperature
strength of the materials used: Unlike polymer
fuel cell technology, where operating temperatures are only
between 80 and 100 degrees Celsius, temperatures in SOFC fuel
cells can climb as high as 900 degrees. This is where Crofer 22 H
comes in, as it can provide the required strength at these high
temperatures. It displays considerably higher strength than the
proven alloy Crofer 22 APU – a joint success developed by experts
from ThyssenKrupp VDM and the Jülich Research Center.