The hybridization of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and gas turbine technologies provides an increase in system efficiency and economic performance. The latter aspect is significantly affected by fuel cell degradation, due to several mechanisms. However, hybrid systems allow different control strategies to minimize degradation effects and impact on economic performance. A real-time distributed model of a SOFC was used to simulate fuel cell degradation in the cases of a standalone cell and a hybrid configuration, where the numerical model would be normally coupled with the hardware components of a hybrid system. The results showed how in a hybrid system it is possible, with the appropriate controller, to maintain constant voltage even if the cell is degrading, reducing degradation rate during time. Fuel cell life could be significantly extended with the control strategies allowed by coupling with a turbine (an order of magnitude longer than a standalone fuel cell), maintaining high system efficiency despite fuel cell degradation.
