Travelling to the fourth half year meeting of the EU ECo project became a bit of a journey with obstacles for some of us because of strikes in the transport area. Finally, a sunny Brussels welcomed the participants.
With the positive impressions from the mid-term review, the speed of the activities for the final year to come was accelerated.
The work package to improve state-of-the-art cells is about to come to a conclusion. Impressive two versions could be presented from the ECo project, one with an improved oxygen and another with an improved fuel electrode. Ultimately, both versions will now be merged in the final period, to hopefully provide even better performance than seen before. In addition, promising versions for future improved SOECs were presented as well. Stacks with improved cells will bemade available.
The picture about durability at different conditions, from stationary to dynamic, from galvanostatic to potentiostatic, from steam to co-SOEC, from cell to stack etc. is taking shape and significant knowledge has been gathered. A new campaign for testing of CO2 impurities in flue gas, which is important to be able to study the effect of them on SOEC performance and durability, is in planning.
The SOEC plant has been extended with internal methanation and can now be assessed in terms of operation at high pressure and benefits for the methane yield and system efficiency.
The three specific cases for integrating the ECo concept in the sectors biomass, biogas, and cement industry have been evaluated in different European frame works yielding interesting motivation facts where the most environmental benefit can be expected when applying the ECo concept in addition oto the existing plants and under which conditions.
The dissemination of project results has been continued to various audiences and at various technical levels.
It was concluded that most of the activities are on track or only slightly delayed. Among critical issues are the originally planned stack test at high pressure – alternative tests were agreed upon, and the required Open Access, which is far from a normal procedure and need a lot attention and resources. Furthermore, efforts towards an exploitation plan have to be intensified. The next immediate action will be devoted the preparation of input for the EU Review Days 2018.
Between the meeting sessions, the participants received a guided tour through Brussels by evening & night, to famous sites, including a historic dinner place.
The final hours were dedicated a tour through the scenic ENGIE facilities and fantastic labs at the outskirts of Brussels. Thank you very much for a special event where every detail was taken care of.