kraftwerk TUBES GmbH

kraftwerk develops and manufactures advanced solid oxide fuel cells (aSOFC) in Dresden, Germany. At the core of the technology is a metal-ceramic tubular cell: an ultra-thin nanocrystalline ceramic functional layer on a mechanically robust tubular support. The cell converts the chemical energy of the fuel electrochemically into electrical energy; the primary energy conversion therefore takes place without a combustion engine.

What sets it apart from planar solid oxide cells is its thermomechanical behaviour. The tubular architecture tolerates rapid heat-up and cool-down as well as repeated thermal cycling at SOFC operating temperatures of around 800 to 850 °C; during validation, a stack module completed 30 thermal cycles between roughly 400 and 850 °C. This is precisely where planar designs fail — and precisely why this architecture puts mobile applications within reach.

Operation on methane is substantiated by our own test campaigns. Beyond that, the platform is designed for hydrogen and reformable fuels: natural gas and LNG, biogas, methanol and synthetic hydrocarbons. Ammonia requires an upstream conversion step. Methane is reformed internally — the exhaust heat recovered in the process is returned to the system as chemical energy. In dynamic FTIR measurements, no NOx was detected within measurement accuracy under the conditions tested.

The design is modular throughout: several TUBES form a STACK; the STACK sits together with the injection nozzle in a BOX; BOX, insulation, control, system components and power electronics make up a MODULE. Manufacturing is based on modular ten-cell building blocks. This yields systems from the 30 kW class as the building unit up to megawatt-scale installations — for stationary supply, data centres and maritime applications. For vehicles, kraftwerk combines these into the SURFBOARD: the complete onboard energy system consisting of aSOFC MODULE, battery MODULE, ultracapacitors and tank. The power generator itself requires no platinum-group catalyst and no lithium- or cobalt-based storage materials, which reduces dependence on critical raw material markets.

The core aSOFC platform is assessed at TRL 7; individual subsystems and application configurations are at different levels of maturity. kraftwerk holds 33 granted patents. In a multi-year development programme with Volkswagen, modular stack module boxes were jointly built and technically characterised (project final report 2021); in 2024 a Volkswagen-confirmed industrialisation and cost assessment followed. In 2025 the company won the Climatech Challenge at EGYPES in Cairo.