A novel Ni/ceria-based anode for metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells Veronika A. Rojek-W € ockner a , Alexander K. Opitz b, c , Marco Brandner a ,J € org Math  e d , Martin Bram e, f, * a Plansee SE, Innovation Services, 6600 Reutte, Austria b Christian Doppter Laboratory for Interfaces in Metal-Supported Energy Converters, Getreidemarkt 9/164, 1060 Vienna, Austria c TU Wien, Institute of Chemical Technologies and Analytics, Getreidemarkt 9/164-EC, 1060 Vienna, Austria d AVL List GmbH, Hans-List-Platz 1, 8020 Graz, Austria e Christian Doppter Laboratory for Interfaces in Metal-Supported Energy Converters, 52425 Jülich, Germany f Forschungszentrum Jülich, Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-1: Materials Synthesis and Processing, 52425 Jülich, Germany highlights  Novel anode concept for solid oxide fuel cells based on Ni/GDC.  Proof of function on symmetrical cells.  Successful implementation into a metal-supported solid oxide fuel cell.  Maximum power density 0.88 Wcm 2 at 850  C with dry hydrogen.  Impedance studies in H 2 /H 2 O and H 2 /H 2 O/H 2 S atmospheres. article info Article history: Received 26 April 2016 Received in revised form 20 June 2016 Accepted 21 July 2016 Keywords: Cermet anode Ceria SOFC Metal-supported fuel cell Impedance spectroscopy Sulfur poisoning abstract For optimization of ageing behavior, electrochemical performance, and sulfur tolerance of metal- supported solid oxide fuel cells a new anode concept is introduced, which is based on a Ni/GDC cermet replacing the established Ni/YSZ anodes. In the present work optimized processing parameters compatible with MSC substrates are speciﬁed by doing sintering studies on pressed bulk specimen and on real porous anode structures. The electrochemical performance of the Ni/GDC anodes was charac- terized by means of symmetrical electrolyte supported model-type cells. In this study, three main ob- jectives are pursued. Firstly, the effective technical realization of the Ni/GDC concept is demonstrated. Secondly, the electrochemical behavior of Ni/GDC porous anodes is characterized by impedance spec- troscopy and compared with the current standard Ni/YSZ anode. Further, a qualitative comparison of the sulfur poisoning behavior of both anode types is presented. Thirdly, preliminary results of a successful implementation of the Ni/GDC cermet into a metal-supported single cell are presented. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Compared to conventional anode-supported solid oxide fuel cells (ASCs) metal-supported cells (MSCs) offer various potentials like lower production costs and improved ruggedness, which make them attractive for mobile applications such as auxiliary power units (APUs) [1,2]. The metallic substrate, however, requires speciﬁc adaption of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) processing technologies since sintering of functional layers at high temperatures under oxidizing atmosphere is restricted to avoid oxidation of the sub- strate [3,4]. This change in sintering conditions has tremendous effects on the properties of used materials and consequently on the electrochemical behavior of MSCs. Therefore, the achievements from ASC research can only be transferred in minor parts to the fabrication of metal supported SOFCs, making fundamental research on this promising type of fuel cells highly important. The presented work aims at optimizing Plansee's current state- * Corresponding author. Forschungszentrum Jülich, Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-1: Materials Synthesis and Processing, 52425 Jülich, Germany. E-mail address: m.bram@fz-juelich.de (M. Bram). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Power Sources journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jpowsour http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2016.07.075 0378-7753/© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Journal of Power Sources 328 (2016) 65e74