Redox Power Systems, the startup company founded by Clark School professor and University of Maryland Energy Research Center director Eric Wachsman, wants to swap generators and power plants for sleek grey boxes filled with stacks of fuel-flexible, solid-oxide fuel cells that produce electricity at an estimated cost of only $1 per watt.
The device is about 4′ cubed–the size of a large washer or dryer–but capable of generating 25 kilowatts of electricity, enough to power a strip mall. Units designed for homes would be even smaller. Redox envisions the PowerSERG replacing diesel generators in rural areas and developing nations, as well as reducing stress on existing power grids.
Conventional solid-oxide fuel cells run at high temperatures, making them more expensive and prone to performance losses. A key advance in the Maryland fuel cell is that it is based on cerium oxide and bismuth oxide, which are far more electrically conductive than materials used in commercial versions and produce much more electricity per square centimeter. The cell can operate at 650 °C, down from 900 °C in existing products, reducing thermal stresses and insulation needs. And the final product is made of 32 stacks, each of which can be replaced if it fails.
Redox is building a factory in Melbourne, Florida, and hopes to launch the product in 2014.
Once built, the Redox Cube will be available as a single, small-sized cube (visible in the photos, below, for scale). Larger installations can use several Cubes, installed in stacks or formations like Legos, to meet the power demands of a given area, village, hospital, or office building. It’s hoped that inexpensive, yet highly-efficient generators like the Cube will allow people and communities to break free from the dirty coal, oil, and unicorn-powered “dirty plants” that they’re basically forced to buy energy.
