Status and prospects of intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells

Compared with conventional electric power generation systems, the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) has many advantages because of its unique features. High temperature SOFC has been successfully developed to its commercial applications, but it still faces many problems which hamper large-scale commercial applications of SOFC. To reduce the cost of SOFC, intermediate tem-perature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC) is presently under rapid development. The status of IT-SOFC was reviewed with emphasis on discussion of their component materials.