Licensing opportunity
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) is seeking partnerships to license and further develop its PEN structured micro-solid oxide fuel cells (μSOFCs). The current-generating and gas-sensing properties of μSOFCs make them useful in the manufacture of batteries for portable electronic devices such as phones, laptops, PDAs and digital cameras.
The EPFL’s technology relies on a PEN (positive electrode-electrolyte-negative electrode) stress-resistant membrane architecture with a small thickness-to-diameter ratio. It consists of a supporting metallic grid of nickel that overlays an electrolyte film and a patterned metallic sub-layer structure of platinum.
Μicro-SOFCs are fabricated using thin film technology and maximum entropy methods (MEMs) that produce larger free standing membranes with more porous anode structures and increased triple-phase-boundaries (TPB).
EPFL's larger PEN structures are free standing membranes 0.5 micrometres thick and 5 millimetres in diameter. They are mechanically stable at 600 °C and work with a 200 millivolt open-circuit voltage. Smaller versions half a millimetre across work with a higher open-circuit voltage of 800 millivolts.
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