High temperature electrochemical production of hydrogen

“I believe that water will one day be employed as fuel, that hydrogen and oxygen which constitute it, used singly or together, will furnish an inexhaustible source of heat and light, of an intensity of which coal is not capable… Water will be the coal of the future.” Thus, Jules Verne imagined tomorrow's future as early as 1874 in his novel The Mysterious Island.

Hydrogen is nowadays considered to be one of the most relevant secondary energy carriers used to generate power, and can also be generated directly from electricity and water. This chapter will present high temperature solid oxide cell technology as a representative technology for the highly efficient and environmentally friendly production of hydrogen. Furthermore, solid oxide technologies provide novel opportunities to use hydrogen for both power and heat production. Their advantages, disadvantages, possible applications, and potential improvements will all be discussed in the following pages.