Licensing, Technology Commercialization, 3200 Q Avenue, MSIN: K9-62, Richland Washington 99354 [Phone: 509-375-3847] [e-mail: technology @pnl.gov

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), operated by Battelle Memorial Institute under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy, solicits interest from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology (hereinafter referred to as "technology"). License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use. PNNL may also be available to licensee(s) to assist in further research and development of the technology under a sponsored research agreement and/or through the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) program.



Description of invention: An approach for gettering chromium vapor species from the air stream after its transport through the balance of plant and just prior to entering the SOFC stack. The invention involves utilizing a bed of active materials that can absorb/adsorb the chromium species, thus preventing then from entering the stack where they react with and degrade the cathode. The getter bed can act as the primary active remover of the chromium species or as a final polisher if coatings are also applied to the balance of plant hardware.



Significance: The PNNL invention is especially suited to ceramic stacks not having a chromium containing interconnect, and where the chromium species only originate from the balance of plant hardware, and most especially from the heat exchanger given its high surface area. This invention is most useful for a ceramic stack because an effective gettering system would offer the potential to eliminate nearly all chromium-species prior to the air entering the stack, thus avoiding the cathode chrome poisoning degradation mechanism all together. The strong temperature dependence of chromium species generation is another factor making this invention more suited to ceramic stacks as they generally operate at 100C-200C higher temperature than metallic interconnect stacks.



Note: THIS IS NOT PROCUREMENT. Any company interested in licensing this technology must respond with a letter of interest (may be submitted by e-mail) no later than 30 days from the publication date of this Notice summarizing the company's business and technical expertise and motivation for pursuing this opportunity. Companies deemed appropriate will be provided with further information on the technology. Such information may require an executed Nondisclosure Agreement. Respondents wishing to enter into negotiations for a commercial license will be required to submit a business plan for the commercialization of the technology prior to licensee(s) selection and negotiations. Please send letters of interest to the attention of the POC identified within this Notice.