OBJECTIVESTHE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS TO DISCOVER A SET OF NEW ELECTROLYTE, ELECTRODE, AND CATALYST MATERIALS FOR LOW-COST, HIGHLY EFFICIENT, AND DURABLE PROTON CONDUCTING SOLID OXIDE ELECTROLYSIS CELLS (P-SOECS). OUR FINAL GOAL IS TO ACHIEVE DEGRADATION RATE =5 MV/KHR AND =85% FARADAIC EFFICIENCY (FE) AT =0.8 A CM-2 AT 1.3 V UNDER 50% STEAM IN 10 CM2 P-SOEC AT =600 °C. THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ARE AS FOLLOWS: BUDGET PERIOD 1 1.TO DEVELOP NOVEL PROTON CONDUCTING ELECTROLYTE AND THIN FILM COATING FOR IMPROVED PROTONCONDUCTIVITY AND DURABILITY UNDER ELECTROLYSIS OPERATING CONDITIONS BY TAILORING THECOMPOSITIONS, STRUCTURE AND ARCHITECTURE, AS WELL AS FABRICATION PROCESSES; 2.TO DEVELOP ADVANCED OXYGEN ELECTRODE (O-ELECTRODE) MATERIALS AND CATALYSTS FOR HIGH HIGHELECTRO-CATALYTIC ACTIVITY AND DURABILITY BY TUNING THE COMPOSITION, INTERFACE ENGINEERING,AND SURFACE MODIFICATION; BUDGET PERIOD 2 3.TO UNRAVEL DEGRADATION MECHANISM OF P-SOEC ON THE BASIS OF MATERIAL ELECTRONICSTRUCTURE, CHEMICAL STRUCTURE, AND INTERFACE INTERACTION; 4.TO ESTABLISH SCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR RATIONAL DESIGN OF BETTER MATERIALS FOR P-SOEC; 5.TO DEMONSTRATE HIGH PERFORMANCE AND DURABLE P-SOEC SINGLE CELLS THAT MEET THE TARGETSSET BY DOE UTILIZING THE NEWLY DEVELOPED SET OF MATERIALS; 6.TO PROVIDE TECHNO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS ON THE P-SOEC SYSTEM FOR H2 PRODUCTION. THE GOAL IS TO DEVELOP A NEW GENERATION OF P-SOECS FOR LOW-COST PRODUCTION OF H2 WHICH WILL FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE THE ENERGY PARADIGM FROM “FOSSIL ENERGY” PRACTICES TO “CLEAN ENERGY” REGIME. WE WILL BUILD UP A STRONG BRIDGE WITH LOCAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS AND INDUSTRIES FROM THE BEGINNING THROUGH MEETINGS WITH STATE REPRESENTATIVES, TRADE GROUPS, AND CONGRESS.