ABSTRACT
High-temperature electrochemical systems can use a wide variety of fuels. Low-/high-temperature fuel cells that normally convert fuels into electric power should be considered as electroenergy conversion devices, and electrolysis cells that normally convert electric power into fuels or chemicals should be considered as electroenergy storage devices. High-temperature solid oxide electrolysis cells can simply be considered as the reverse operation of solid oxide fuel cells. Operating temperatures of molten carbonate fuel cells can vary with the melting points of bicomponent or tricomponent eutectic carbonate mixtures. Rechargeable high-temperature batteries can be used in relatively large-scale energy storage applications and can possibly be used in situations associated with electricity load leveling, power quality and peak shaving, and space power. The main advantages of high-temperature batteries include potential low costs, longer cycling life, and upscaling to megawatt scale. Electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices operated at high temperatures require complex system configurations due to the need for thermal management.
