University of Louisiana at Lafayette gets DOE grant to study aviation fuel cells

In Louisiana, an energy storage and power generation system being designed at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette could make flying the friendly skies less harmful to the environment.

Solid oxide fuel cells are “a key component” within that system, said Dr. Xiao-Dong Zhou. Their inclusion in the next generation of electric aircraft could cut carbon emissions – and that’s caught the eye of the U.S. Department of Energy, which awarded UL Lafayette a $2.26 million grant this fall.

Solid oxide fuel cells are electrochemical devices that generate cost-effective electricity and, depending on the type of fuel that’s used, emit no or lower amounts of pollutants such as carbon dioxide. They convert chemical energy into electrical energy from a variety of fuels at an efficiency as high as 70 percent, Zhou said. By comparison, the thermal efficiency of a gasoline engine is about 30 percent.

Propulsion systems used by commercial aircraft “produce a substantial amount of carbon dioxide,” Zhou said. But, if they included a hybrid energy storage and generation system that combined solid oxide fuel cells, a small turbine powered by biofuels, and batteries, aircraft “would be more efficient and more environmentally friendly.”