NexTech Materials is developing sulfur tolerant solid oxide fuel cell stacks for military applications in the 1 to 10 kW range, including unmanned aerial vehicles. NexTech's stacks are based on its patented “FlexCell” planar cell design. There are several unique attributes associated with this design and NexTech's associated planar stack technology, including sulfur tolerance that facilitates the use of military logistic fuels, and high single-pass fuel utilization that enables high overall stack (and system) efficiency. This paper will describe the status of NexTech's SOFC stack technology, stack-level demonstrations of sulfur, and current development initiatives.
