e-Bio Fuel-Cell

An e-Bio Fuel-Cell system uses bio-ethanol as a fuel source to power a vehicle or equipment. Electrical energy is created through a power generator called a Solid-Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC).

Bio-ethanol fuel is made from plants. Although some CO2 is created by converting the raw plant material to fuel, the CO2 emitted is offset by the plant’s natural absorption of CO2 during growth, contributing to a “carbon neutral cycle”.

In 2016, Nissan became the first automotive company in the world to create a vehicular propulsion system powered by a SOFC using bio-ethanol. Nissan is now applying this SOFC development to trial stationary power generation systems. A unique process of producing bio-ethanol from sorghum was jointly developed with Binex Inc. for use in stationary power generation systems.

In countries where bio-ethanol is widely used (such as Brazil and Thailand), there is great potential for e-Bio Fuel-Cells within existing infrastructures.

A reformer produces hydrogen from bio-ethanol, and a SOFC stack generates electricity from a reaction between the hydrogen and oxygen (air) in the stack. For vehicle applications, the generated electricity is stored in the on-board battery which supplies electricity to an electric motor to drive the vehicle. The heat that is generated during power generation is reused in the generation of hydrogen.

A SOFC features high power generation efficiency and can achieve about the same cruising distances as conventional gasoline engine vehicles.

A SOFC generates electricity from the movement of oxygen ions inside an electrolyte. As it can also generate electricity from low-purity hydrogen, this technology makes it possible to design compact on-board SOFC systems.​​​ Along with ethanol, a wide range of other fuels, such as natural gas, can be used as a fuel source. SOFC systems operate at high temperatures, thus making rare metals or other highly active catalysts unnecessary.