Towards the hydrogen era using near-zero CO2 emissions energy systems

In this paper, the integration of a solid oxide fuel cell operating at a very high temperature (900–1000 °C, 55–60% efficiency) in a near-zero emission power cycle is presented. A more efficient and powerful hybrid near-zero emission CO2/O2 cycle is obtained with a CO2 release as small as 6 g CO2/kW he. Based on a trade-off analysis, the net efficiency is around 47–48%, similar to a current one-pressure level natural gas fired combined cycle, and the power output (940 kWe) is increased by 66% compared to the so-called E-MATIANT cycle but currently at a much higher cost than those of other known zero-emission power cycles.