New low temperature fuel cell could transform hydrogen power

One technology attracting significant attention is the solid-oxide fuel cell, or SOFC. Unlike batteries, which release stored chemical energy, these fuel cells convert chemical fuels directly into electricity and keep generating power as long as fuel is available. Many people are already familiar with hydrogen fuel cells, which use hydrogen gas to produce electricity and water.

Why High Operating Temperatures Are a Major Challenge

Although SOFCs are known for their high efficiency and long operational life, they have a serious limitation: they need extremely high temperatures of around 700-800°C to function properly. Reaching and maintaining these temperatures requires specialized materials that can withstand intense heat, which makes the systems expensive.

Researchers at Kyushu University, reporting in Nature Materials, now say they have developed an SOFC that works efficiently at just 300°C. According to the team, this breakthrough could greatly reduce costs, support the creation of low-temperature SOFCs, and speed up their real-world use.

The Key Role of Electrolytes in Fuel Cell Performance

At the core of every SOFC is a component called the electrolyte, a ceramic layer that moves charged particles between the fuel cell's electrodes. In hydrogen fuel cells, this layer carries hydrogen ions (a.k.a. protons), allowing the cell to generate electricity. However, the electrolyte typically needs extremely high temperatures to keep these protons moving fast enough for efficient operation.

"Bringing the working temperature down to 300°C it would slash material costs and open the door to consumer-level systems," says Professor Yoshihiro Yamazaki of Kyushu University's Platform of Inter-/Transdisciplinary Energy Research, who directed the study. "However, no known ceramic could carry enough protons that fast at such 'warm' conditions. So, we set out to break that bottleneck."

Solving the Dopant Problem in Crystal Lattices

Electrolytes are built from atoms arranged in a crystal lattice. Protons move through the gaps between these atoms. Scientists have spent years testing various materials and chemical dopants -- substances that modify a material's properties -- in hopes of increasing the speed of proton movement through the lattice.

"But this also comes with a challenge," Yamazaki explains. "Adding chemical dopants can increase the number of mobile protons passing through an electrolyte, but it usually clogs the crystal lattice, slowing the protons down. We looked for oxide crystals that could host many protons and let them move freely -- a balance that our new study finally struck."

A 300°C Breakthrough Using Sc-Doped BaSnO3 and BaTiO3

The team discovered that two oxides, barium stannate (BaSnO₃) and barium titanate (BaTiO₃), when doped with high levels of scandium (Sc), reached the target proton conductivity of more than 0.01 S/cm at 300°C. This conductivity is similar to what today's SOFC electrolytes achieve at 600-700°C.

"Structural analysis and molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the Sc atoms link their surrounding oxygens to form a 'ScO₆ highway,' along which protons travel with an unusually low migration barrier. This pathway is both wide and softly vibrating, which prevents the proton-trapping that normally plagues heavily doped oxides," says Yamazaki. "Lattice-dynamics data further revealed that BaSnO₃ and BaTiO₃ are intrinsically 'softer' than conventional SOFC materials, letting them absorb far more Sc than previously assumed."

Opening the Door to Affordable Low-Temperature Fuel Cells

These results overturn the long-standing trade-off between adding more dopants and maintaining fast ion movement, providing a promising path toward affordable, intermediate-temperature SOFCs.

"Beyond fuel cells, the same principle can be applied to other technologies, such as low-temperature electrolyzes, hydrogen pumps, and reactors that convert CO₂ into valuable chemicals, thereby multiplying the impact of decarbonization. Our work transforms a long-standing scientific paradox into a practical solution, bringing affordable hydrogen power closer to everyday life," concludes Yamazaki.