Alternative to Alloying: Advanced Protective Coatings for Low-Cost Alloys for Solid Oxide Cell Stack Technology

Funding: NCN OPUS 25 (Grant No. UMO-2023/49/B/ST8/03265)
Budget: 2 283 352 PLN
Duration: January 2024 – January 2028 (48 months)
Coordinator: Institute of Power Engineering (IEN), Warsaw — PI: Yevgeniy Naumovich
Partner: Gdańsk University of Technology (GUT) – PI: Piotr Jasiński

Background

Solid oxide cells (SOC) — including fuel cells (SOFC) and electrolysers (SOE) — are among the most efficient technologies for clean power generation, hydrogen production, and energy storage. A major cost barrier in SOC stack manufacturing is the metallic interconnect, which currently relies on expensive, dedicated ferritic steels such as Crofer 22 APU. Replacing these with widely available, low-cost generic alloys (e.g. AISI 430, 441, 444) would significantly reduce stack cost and improve supply chain resilience.

Objective

The project develops advanced multi-layered protective coatings that enable the use of cheap, generic ferritic steels (CAFS) as SOC interconnects, without sacrificing performance or durability. The key technical goal is to demonstrate comparable performance of single repeating units built with coated generic steels versus state-of-the-art Crofer 22 APU over 1000 h of reversible SOC operation. Target TRL advancement is from TRL 2 to TRL 4–5.

Approach

The coating strategy addresses three functions simultaneously: suppression of silica migration from the steel substrate, reduction of chromia scale growth via reactive elements, and blocking of outward chromium diffusion and evaporation using spinel-based layers. A low-temperature sintering route is developed to avoid damaging the steel microstructure. Additionally, electrospun perovskite nanofibers are incorporated into the coating to enhance electrical contact and serve as chromium getters.

The research progresses from materials screening and coating optimization (WP1–WP2), through long-term oxidation and dual-atmosphere testing (WP3), fiber integration (WP4), short-stack reversible SOC operation (WP5), to in-depth post-mortem analysis (WP6).

Expected Impact

Successful completion will deliver a validated coating technology that makes generic ferritic steels viable as SOC interconnects — a key enabler for lowering the cost of next-generation solid oxide cell stacks operating at 600 °C and below, supporting the commercialization of SOC-based hydrogen and power generation systems.

Publications:

2025

• Omid Ekhlasiosgouei, Maciej Bik, Federico Smeacetto, Piotr Jasinski Sebastian Molin. “Electrophoretic Deposition of Novel Hybrid MnCo2O4: Mn1·7CuFe0·3O4 Spinel Protective Coating on Stainless-Steel Metallic Interconnects for SOFCs Application.” International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 158: 150569 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.150569.
• Maryam Mehdizade, Federico Smeacetto, Michał Winiarski, Sebastian Molin. “Effect of Process Parameters on Properties of Mn1.5CuFe0.5O4 Spinel Oxide Coatings Deposited by Spray Pyrolysis Method.” International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 130: 213-29 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.04.355.

2024

• Omid Ekhlasiosgouei, Maciej Bik, Sebastian Molin. “Preparation of MnCo2O4 and Mn1.7CuFe0.3O4 Single-Layer, and Novel MnCo2O4/ Mn1.7CuFe0.3O4 Dual-Layer Spinel Protective Coatings on Complex-Shaped Metallic Interconnects by EPD Method.” International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 83: 563-76 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.07.447.

Conference contributions:

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