REVIEW article
Front. Energy Res.
Sec. Fuel Cells, Electrolyzers and Membrane Reactors
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenrg.2025.1650696
Progress and outlook of solid oxide fuel cell technology for stationary power generation applications
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Mechanical Engineering,, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam
- 2Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chungnam National University, Yuseong-gu, Republic of Korea
- 3Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam
- 4Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam
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Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are among the most promising electrochemical technologies for highefficiency, low-emission power generation. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in SOFC materials, system architectures, and commercialization pathways, with emphasis on intermediate-temperature operation to enhance durability and reduce costs. Developments in electrolyte materials are analyzed alongside progress in anode and cathode advances in materials. At the system level, the manuscript compares electrolyte-supported and anodesupported configurations, examines sealing technologies and thermal cycling durability in planar stacks, and discusses fuel preparation strategies with emphasis on sulfur removal from hydrocarbon fuels. The integration of direct internal reforming (DIR) SOFC systems and the role of anode gas recycle in improving efficiency and thermal management are also addressed. The high-temperature exhaust from SOFCs supports cogeneration and trigeneration applications, enabling additional power or heating/cooling through thermodynamic cycles such as Rankine and Brayton, thereby enhancing overall system efficiency. Finally, the review examines the status of commercial SOFC deployment, presenting case studies of leading industrial players such as Bloom Energy (USA), Ceres Power (UK), and SolydEra (Italy). The paper concludes with an assessment of the key challenges and perspectives for SOFC commercialization in stationary power generation, including cost reduction, stack lifetime extension, large-scale manufacturing, and system integration strategies required to achieve widespread market adoption.
Keywords: SOFC, Cogeneration, Trigeneration, gas turbine, Hybrid systems, fuel cells
Received: 24 Jun 2025; Accepted: 01 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Le, Nguyen, Yu, Le and Hoang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Huu-Linh Nguyen, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chungnam National University, Yuseong-gu, Republic of Korea
Tuan-Dung Hoang, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.