A Novel Metal Supported SOFC Fabrication Method Developed in KAIST: a Sinter-Joining Method

Metal-supported SOFCs have been investigated to overcome the disadvantages of ceramic-supported SOFCs, including issues related to mechanical strength and sealing. In the case of ceramic-supported cells, the mechanical support is a brittle ceramic or cermet, and it contains expensive materials. However, metal-supported cells utilize ceramic layers that are only as thick as necessary for electrochemical functioning, thereby compensating for the disadvantages of ceramic-supported cells. The mechanical support is fabricated from inexpensive and robust metals, and the electrochemically active layers are applied directly to the metal support. The metal-supported SOFCs thus can provide a reduced system cost, ease of manufacturing, and operational advantages. Owing to these features, metal-supported SOFCs are a very promising candidate for commercialization. Given the importance of studying worldwide trends in metal-supported SOFC research for performance evaluation, this paper reviews development trends with a focus on fabrication methods. Furthermore, a novel fabrication method developed in KAIST is discussed.