MechE Seminar: Efficient and clean cogeneration and power-to-fuel applications with reversible solid oxide cell technology
Event details
| Date | 08.09.2026 |
| Hour | 12:00 › 13:00 |
| Speaker | Prof. Jan Van Herle, Institute of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, EPFL |
| Location | Online |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
| Event Language | English |
Abstract: Energy demand is increasingly electrified not only for traditional use (industry, IT,..) but also for mobility (EV) and heating (heat pumps). The explosive demand due to AI is causing a paradigm shift. The demand is partly met by the continuous rise in installed PV, wind and other renewable power which, due to intermittency, require power storage. Natural gas remains a key energy vector owing to its availability, distribution network, use versatility and price.
Reversible solid oxide cell technology (rSOC) is uniquely capable within a single installation (1) to convert natural gas to electricity and useful heat, in fuel cell mode, and (2) to store electricity, in electrolysis mode with heat recovery, back to methane (CH4) re-injected into the gas grid, with high round trip efficiency and very low polluting emissions. CO2 is recovered during fuel cell mode (winter) and reconverted to CH4 with the H2 generated during summer electrolysis mode, by downstream methanation. Such an application is relevant for countries with high hydro/PV power and low wind power shares, hence Switzerland.
SOC is not limited to natural gas and can use biogas, syngas, H2, NH3 and liquid fuels. Further, storage is not limited to CH4 and can be extended to e.g. mobility hydrocarbon fuels using co-electrolysis of H2O/CO2 and downstream Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Its applications are therefore manifold in the energy landscape.
Designing and operating a rSOC, which at heart is an electrochemical system like a battery and therefore intrinsically modular, but which additionally includes complex fluids input/output and heat exchange optimisation, requires a multi-scale multi-disciplinary approach. The GEM lab covers SOC R&D from nm-resolved materials interfaces and electrode structures up to 100 kW demo-systems, with a focus on electrochemistry, catalysis, corrosion, heat integration, and operational control, and the aim to achieve long fuel cell/electrolyser stack lifetime, which implies the understanding of the degradation mechanisms at work.
The presentation will take a tour through this R&D illustrated with multiple examples, highlights and key insights. GEM is also active in related fields (PEM fuel cells, AEM electrolysers, bio-electrolysis), that will be briefly touched upon.
Biography: Holds a chemistry degree from Basel University (CH) and a PhD from EPFL (Dpt of Chemistry) on Solid Oxide Fuel Cell cathode mechanisms (1993). After a postdoc in Japan (1994-5) on ceramic materials, he returned to EPFL to lead a Materials Programme collaboration project with ETHZ and industry until 2000. In 2000 he cofounded the EPFL spin-off HTceramix and moved to Mechanical Engineering under Prof D Favrat (Industrial Energy Systems Laboratory - LENI). There he built up the activity on fuel cells as a subgroup of LENI, which in 2013 became an independent STI-IGM entity renamed to GEM (Group of Energy Materials). In parallel, HTceramix teamed up with Italian industry to become SolydEra, one of the world’s leading companies in Solid Oxide stack manufacturing (50 MW/yr). In 2015 he moved GEM to a new lab on the EPFL-Valais/Wallis campus, building up facilities specialised in fuel cell / electrolyser device diagnostics with 30 test rigs, and also engaging in ambitious demonstration installations. GEM is highly active in industrial and European collaboration. The lab raised 42 MCHF through 140 projects and published just over 500 journal and conference papers. In 2025 and 2026 2 new start-ups were created out of the lab’s activities.
Reversible solid oxide cell technology (rSOC) is uniquely capable within a single installation (1) to convert natural gas to electricity and useful heat, in fuel cell mode, and (2) to store electricity, in electrolysis mode with heat recovery, back to methane (CH4) re-injected into the gas grid, with high round trip efficiency and very low polluting emissions. CO2 is recovered during fuel cell mode (winter) and reconverted to CH4 with the H2 generated during summer electrolysis mode, by downstream methanation. Such an application is relevant for countries with high hydro/PV power and low wind power shares, hence Switzerland.
SOC is not limited to natural gas and can use biogas, syngas, H2, NH3 and liquid fuels. Further, storage is not limited to CH4 and can be extended to e.g. mobility hydrocarbon fuels using co-electrolysis of H2O/CO2 and downstream Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Its applications are therefore manifold in the energy landscape.
Designing and operating a rSOC, which at heart is an electrochemical system like a battery and therefore intrinsically modular, but which additionally includes complex fluids input/output and heat exchange optimisation, requires a multi-scale multi-disciplinary approach. The GEM lab covers SOC R&D from nm-resolved materials interfaces and electrode structures up to 100 kW demo-systems, with a focus on electrochemistry, catalysis, corrosion, heat integration, and operational control, and the aim to achieve long fuel cell/electrolyser stack lifetime, which implies the understanding of the degradation mechanisms at work.
The presentation will take a tour through this R&D illustrated with multiple examples, highlights and key insights. GEM is also active in related fields (PEM fuel cells, AEM electrolysers, bio-electrolysis), that will be briefly touched upon.
Biography: Holds a chemistry degree from Basel University (CH) and a PhD from EPFL (Dpt of Chemistry) on Solid Oxide Fuel Cell cathode mechanisms (1993). After a postdoc in Japan (1994-5) on ceramic materials, he returned to EPFL to lead a Materials Programme collaboration project with ETHZ and industry until 2000. In 2000 he cofounded the EPFL spin-off HTceramix and moved to Mechanical Engineering under Prof D Favrat (Industrial Energy Systems Laboratory - LENI). There he built up the activity on fuel cells as a subgroup of LENI, which in 2013 became an independent STI-IGM entity renamed to GEM (Group of Energy Materials). In parallel, HTceramix teamed up with Italian industry to become SolydEra, one of the world’s leading companies in Solid Oxide stack manufacturing (50 MW/yr). In 2015 he moved GEM to a new lab on the EPFL-Valais/Wallis campus, building up facilities specialised in fuel cell / electrolyser device diagnostics with 30 test rigs, and also engaging in ambitious demonstration installations. GEM is highly active in industrial and European collaboration. The lab raised 42 MCHF through 140 projects and published just over 500 journal and conference papers. In 2025 and 2026 2 new start-ups were created out of the lab’s activities.
Practical information
- General public
- Free