Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton

*NOTE: The content of this module is currently being subject to a substantial revision. Please contact the module coordinator for further information.

The aims of this module are to:

• Provide a knowledge of the practical advantages and limitations of various types of fuel cells, batteries and solar cells (and related devices).
• To appreciate the role of these energy conversion devices with respect to other technologies.

Objectives (planned learning outcomes)

Knowledge and understanding
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• The role of electrochemical power sources in energy storage and conversion.
• Important developments in fuel cell and battery technology for automotive and power generation
• Electrochemical/solar/other power systems.

Intellectual skills
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:

• Tackle some problems of energy conversion using fuel cells, batteries and solar cells
• Appreciate the strengths and limitations of various electrochemical
• Quantitatively describe the performance of fuel cells, batteries and solar cells in a specific application.

General transferable (key) skills
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:

• Appreciate the literature on fuel cells, batteries, solar cells and their development.
• Write reports on the performance of these devices.
• Realise the challenges to these technologies and appreciate development needs over the next decade.

A Review of Electrochemical and Solar Energy Conversion. The advantages and challenges of various electrochemical and photovoltaic power sources. The need to integrate technologies. Energy efficiency and figures of merit for performance.

Fuel Cells. Review of types of fuel cell and their challenges. PEM vs. solid oxide fuel cells for specific applications. Automotive and standby power generation. Fuel cell systems (as opposed to a focus on the fuel cell itself). Energy analysis and mass balance. Reactor optimisation.

Batteries and Redox Flow Cells. Types of battery and their characteristics. Review of types of redox flow cell and their state of development. Applications in load levelling and strategic energy management. The link between materials properties and reactor performance.

Solar cells. Review of types and their performance. Silicon, cadmium telluride and dye sensitised solar cells - advantages, limitations and state of development. The design of photovoltaic systems and the need for power management.

Teaching methods include

• A workshop comprising lectures and tutorials to allow appreciation of fuel cell and solar cell systems.
• A web site with access to in-depth materials.

Learning activities include

• A workshop including worked examples and case histories.
• Self-study using provided materials and the web/literature.
• A substantive assignment in two parts: stage I- interim report and stage II - final report.

Background Texts

J. Larminie and A. Dicks, Fuel Cells Systems Explained, Wiley, Chichester, 2001.

T. Markvart, Solar Electricity (2nd edition), Wiley, Chichester, 2000.

A. Goetzberger, J. Knobloch and B. Voss, Crystalline silicon solar cells, Wiley, Chichester, 1998.

M.A. Green, Solar Cells: Operating Principles, Technology and Practice. Prentice Hall, New York, 1982.

M. Archer and R. Hill (eds) Clean Electricity from Photovoltaics, Imperial College Press / World Scientific, London, 2001.

T. Markvart and L. Castañer, Practical Handbook of Photovoltaics: Fundamentals and Applications, Elsevier, Oxford, 2003.

F. Lasnier and T.G. Ang, Photovoltaic Engineering Handbook, Adam Hilger, Bristol, 1990.

Extensive material is available at www.soton.ac.uk/~solar/courses (currently under construction)

Feedback and student support during module study (formative assessment)

• Feedback will be given during class problem solving sessions.
• Feedback will be also given on the assignment.
• Web based study will provide diverse knowledge of the field.
• Lecturers will be available for tutorials and during supervision/revision classes.

Relationship between the teaching, learning and assessment methods and the planned learning outcomes

Formal teaching will take place mainly in workshop sessions, where the principles are explained and illustrated by examples and case histories. Some lectures and tutorials will be given by an industrial expert on fuel cells to provide a commercial perspective on challenges to fuel cell and related technologies. Students are expected to integrate material through the use of web-based material, by self study and by problem solving during the workshop and tutorials. Students will carry out a major assignment to propose an appropriate electrochemical energy system for a specific application. The corresponding report will be submitted in two stages, with an interim report in the middle of the project. Both the interim and final reports will be marked and feedback given. The students will be 100% assessed by the written report assignment.