Cerámicas para un futuro energético sostenible

• Alodia Orera ^[1]
  1. [1] INMA – Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón CSIC – Universidad de Zaragoza; Dpto. Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales y Fluidos Escuela de Ingeniería y Arquitectura
• Localización: Revista de la Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas, Químicas y Naturales de Zaragoza, ISSN 0370-3207, Nº. 78, 2023, págs. 41-84
• Idioma: español
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• Resumen

  • Electroceramics have gained significant importance in recent years in advancing efficient energy storage, conversion, and harvesting devices. Consequently, they find utility in energy storage devices, such as batteries and supercapacitors, as well as in energy conversion systems like fuel cells. These reversible electrochemical devices serve dual purposes: generating electrical energy through hydrogen reacting with oxygen to form water and producing fuel (hydrogen among others) through electrolysis pro- cesses. Given the pressing need to satisfy the escalating energy demand sustainably, the imperative for decarbonizing the European energy sector has become evident. Hy- drogen emerges as an ideal carrier of clean and sustainable energy, serving as a raw material, fuel, and energy storage medium.

    The primary stride toward realizing the “hydrogen economy” undoubtedly lies in achieving the capability to produce it on a large scale and in an environmentally friendly manner. Electrolysis emerges as the predominant source of green hydrogen, generated with minimal greenhouse gas emissions. Among various technologies, utiliz- ing high temperatures in these systems translates into substantial savings in electrical energy consumption during the electrolysis process, thereby constituting one of its key advantages by decreasing operating costs.

    This paper provides an overview of different ceramic materials being developed for fuel cell and high-temperature electrolyzer applications. It also delineates the principal challenges currently impeding the widespread implementation of this tech- nology, including cost, durability, safety, and performance. This article comprises contributions from the author’s research group, including investigations into oxygen overpotentials at the electrolyte-oxygen electrode interface that lead to fatal delamina- tions of multilayer systems, strategies to mitigate compositional and microstructural instability of the fuel electrode, and the development of materials to prevent inter- diffusion of species and the formation of insulating phases, thereby enhancing their electrochemical performance.