About Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Institut für Werkstoffe der Elektrotechnik IWE

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is a higher education and research organisation with about 8,000 employees, 18,500 students, and a total annual budget of about 700 million Euros. KIT was established on 01/10/2009 as merger of Universität Karlsruhe (founded in 1825), one of Germany's leading research universities, and Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (founded in 1956), one of the largest research centres in the Helmholtz Association.

Higher education, research, and innovation are the three pillars of KIT's activities. In establishing innovative research structures, KIT is pursuing joint strategies and visions. KIT is devoted to top research and excellent academic education as well as to being a prominent location of academic life, life-long learning, comprehensive advanced training, exchange of know-how, and sustainable innovation culture. KIT's research profile is characterised by a strong focus on energy technology, nanotechnology and materials research, elementary particle and astroparticle physics as well as climate and environmental research. It has significant competencies in the fields of information and communication technologies, mobility systems, optics and photonics, and the inter-relations of humans and technology.

KIT builds on the extensive experience its predecessors have gained in EU-funded research from more than 1000 projects up to now.  

SOFC research activities

The IWE (Institute of Materials for Electrical and Electronic Engineering) is an institute within the Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology developing functional ceramics, as dielectrics, sensors and Solid Oxide Fuel Cells.

The SOFC research activities of the IWE are based on the planar SOFC stack development which started in 1989 between Siemens Power Generation (KWU) and Siemens Corporate Research and Development in Munich and Erlangen.

Since 1996 the IWE research is dedicated to the development, electrochemical characterisation and modelling of advanced types of solid oxide fuel cells for stationary and mobile (APU) applications with respect to improved performance, efficiency and long term stability. More than 40 refereed publications were co-authored on these issues during the last 8 years.

SOFC experience

There is a wide experience in the area of electrical and electrochemical testing of single cells, stacks and systems. Several setups for planar single cells and short-stacks, each of them designed to solve a special scientific or technological objective, are in use.

Testing of planar cells (1 to 100 cm² electrode area) is possible in a wide range of operating conditions (different types of gas compositions: air, O2/N2-mixtures / H2, H2O, CO, CO2, hydrocarbons; temperature 500 to 1000 °C, in-situ impedance spectroscopy, in-situ gas analysis), including an automated entire monitoring of the cell and individual electrode properties for operating times up to some 1000 h.

In-situ impedance spectroscopy is applied to analyse the electrochemical properties of electrodes and single cells as well as a diagnosis tool for fuel cell stacks and systems.

Project contribution

At IWE fundamental electrochemical studies to analyse the loss and degradation mechanisms in metal supported cells will be carried out. These studies will provide an understanding of mechanisms and support the material and cell developers (Sandvik, TOFC, DTU Risø) to improve performance and stability of the cells.

Advanced testing procedures considering the operating conditions within an SOFC-APU will be developed and applied to evaluate the potential of metal supported SOFCs. The experience gathered within national projects will be used to design testing procedures and a special test bench suitable for the required cycling stability tests.