Available at www.sciencedirect.com journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/he Review Technological development of hydrogen production by solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) Meng Ni, Michael K.H. Leung à , Dennis Y.C. Leung Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, PR China article info Article history: Received 3 August 2007 Received in revised form 17 December 2007 Accepted 24 February 2008 Available online 9 April 2008 Keywords: Solid-oxide steam electrolysis Electrochemistry Literature review Material development Mathematical modeling abstract High-temperature solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) has great potential for efficient and economical production of hydrogen fuel. In this paper, the state-of-the-art SOEC technologies are reviewed. The developments of the important steam electrolyzer components, such as the ionic conducting electrolyte and the electrodes, are summarized and discussed. YSZ and LSGM are promising electrolyte materials for SOEC working at high and intermediate temperatures, respectively. When co-doping or a blocking layer is applied, SDC or GDC are possible electrolyte materials for intermediate-temperature SOEC. Ni–YSZ remains to be the optimal cathode material. Although LSM–YSZ is widely used as SOEC anode, other materials, such as LSF–YSZ, may be better choices and need to be further studied. Considering the cell configuration, planar SOECs are preferred due to their better manufacturability and better electrochemical performance than tubular cells. Anode depolarization is an effective method to reduce the electrical energy consumption of SOEC hydrogen production. Although some electrochemical models and fluid flow models are available, the present literature is lacking detailed modeling analyses of the coupled heat/ mass transfer and electrochemical reaction phenomena of the SOEC. Mathematical modeling studies of SOEC with novel structures and anode depolarization processes will be fruitful for the development of SOEC. More works, both experimental and theoretical, are needed to further develop SOEC technology to produce hydrogen more economically and efficiently for the coming hydrogen economy. & 2008 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................. 2338 2. Working principles ............................................................................. 2338 3. SOEC component requirements ................................................................... 2339 4. Electrolyte materials ............................................................................ 2339 4.1. Oxygen ion conducting electrolyte............................................................ 2339 4.1.1. Stabilized zirconia .................................................................. 2339 4.1.2. Doped LaGaO 3 ...................................................................... 2341 ARTICLE IN PRESS 0360-3199/$ - see front matter & 2008 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2008.02.048 à Corresponding author. Tel.: +852 2859 2628; fax: +852 2858 5415. E-mail address: mkhleung@hku.hk (M.K.H. Leung). INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY 33 (2008) 2337– 2354