Development of SOFC Residential Cogeneration System at Osaka Gas and Kyocera

At 2004, Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. and Kyocera Corporation launched joint development of SOFC residential cogeneration system, aiming for the commercialization. To demonstrate the technical achievement, we installed SOFC residential cogeneration system in a house and carried out operation. At rated power, ac 1kW, net ac efficiency and hot water heat recovery efficiency were 49% (LHV) and 34%(LHV), respectively. The mean net ac efficiency of each day, that is total efficiency of 24 hours, ranged 42-48 % (LHV), when the mean net ac power of SOFC were 480-680W. We demonstrated that this system is good for decreasing CO2 emission. At the end of 2006, we developed new SOFC power generation unit. It was reduced its size nearly half in the volume, in order to fit Japanese house in the city.