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Research paper−45−Synthesiology - English edition Vol.4 No.1 pp.45-55 (Sept. 2011) that used ceramic material, the developments were done for electrolyte materials such as zirconium (zirconium oxide) that employed the ion-conducting property of oxides at high temperature range, as well as the cermet electrode materials that combine the catalyst materials and various ceramic electrodes with mixed conductivity. The developments for manufacturing flat or cylindrical ceramic cells and for manufacturing module stacks were led by Japan[3]-[5]. Until now, the nickel electrodes were developed for temperature ranges of 700 °C or higher because the characteristic of SOFC is the utilization of direct reforming reaction of hydrocarbons at high temperature range, and high energy conversion can be achieved with fuels other than hydrogen. Therefore, compared to the low-temperature PEFC, in the conventional SOFC modules, it was necessary to increase the operation temperature and generation surface area by reducing the cell resistance to obtain high power generation. As the module increased in size due to increased generation surface area, a technological issue developed where rapid startups and shutdowns could not be repeated due to thermomechanical stress. On the other hand, since excess generation could be controlled by startup/shutdown depending on the power load, the realization of SOFC module that could be started up or shut down rapidly and was operable at low temperature was highly in demand[2]. If such flexible operation became possible by overcoming the technological issues of downsizing and lower generation temperature, the CO2 emission could be reduced further. Also, if the operation temperature of the module were lowered, low-cost metal materials could be used.In this paper, we describe our efforts in solving the various R&D issues that were presented as challenges for the 1 IntroductionThe development of the technology for a low-carbon society by shifting from fossil fuel to clean energy is a global concern for humankind. As shown in the Japanese energy statistics, the demand and use of energy to support the social infrastructure are increasing every year. There is an increasing emphasis on technologies that do not use fossil fuels, such as the unused energy of waste heat as well as recyclable solar cells[1]. Particularly, the fuel cell technologies that enable the use of hydrogen energy is gaining attention as the energy management by electrochemical energy conversion that does not emit CO2. The principle of the fuel cell technology was proposed by Sir William Robert Grove of the United Kingdom in 1893. With the advancement of electrodes that enable electrochemical reaction and technologies for ion-conducting electrolyte materials, the fuel cell technology was put to practice as the power generation technology, initially for plants in the beginning of the 20th century. The commercialization of home-use cogeneration and automobile generator is starting now. As more facilities will be powered by fuel cells, a drastic reduction in CO2 emission by 5 million kW level cogeneration is expected by the year 2030[1].In the development of fuel cell technology, various R&Ds using the electrolyte materials as core technology are being conducted actively as shown in Table 1. Currently, the developments are mainly for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC) that can be handled easily and solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) that have high generation efficiency[2]. In the history of the development of materials for SOFC - Compact SOFC using innovative ceramics integration process-Yoshinobu Fujishiro*, Toshio Suzuki, Toshiaki Yamaguchi, Koichi Hamamoto and Masanobu AwanoAdvanced Manufacturing Research Institute, AIST 2266-98 Anagahora, Shimo-Shidami, Moriyama-ku, Nagoya 463-8560, Japan *E-mail : Original manuscript received October 29, 2010, Revisions received December 14, 2010, Accepted December 14, 2010Realization of highly efficient SOFC (solid oxide fuel cell) modules, which are compact and capable of quick startup and shut-down operation, is strongly expected because it would be useful to solve environmental problems. In order to yield new outcomes in new energy production industry market, we have carried out continuous R&D directly linked with the original idea, trial production, and evaluation by using the ceramics integration manufacturing platform. In consequence, original, compact and high-power SOFC modules operable at low temperature have been realized by upgrading of function-structure integration technology. These are drawing attention as products of ingenious technology. This paper presents, in addition to industrial needs, approaches and methods in industry-academia-government collaborative research to overcome tasks toward productization.Challenge for the development of micro SOFC manufacturing technologyKeywords : Ceramics processing, ceramic integration technology, energy conversion, fuel cell, micro SOFC, energy module[Translation from Synthesiology, Vol.4, No.1, p.36-45 (2011)]

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