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COVID-19 was identified all over the world as a pandemic in December 2019. This novel coronavirus affects the lower respiratory area, which causes pneumonia in the human body and transfers from human to human. Every day, the number of new patients and the number of deaths are increasing immensely, while specific drugs for this virus are still being developed. Hospitals are struggling to accommodate patients, resulting in a large number of temporary hospitals. These makeshift hospitals need an uninterrupted power supply to continuously maintain all the electrical facilities. Fuel cells, especially solid oxide fuel cells, play an essential role in meeting the additional energy needs of humankind during this critical moment. SOFCs are able to supply power to those makeshift hospitals from the main hospital building, as well as supplying electricity to locked-down residential areas to ease the strain on the electrical grid during this pandemic situation. As a result of their extensive applicability and numerous uses, SOFCs can be used to address electrical needs challenges in various sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanotechnology is utilized well in the development and improvement of the performance in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs). The high operating temperature of SOFCs (700–900 °C) has resulted in serious demerits regarding their overall performance and durability. Therefore, the operating temperature has been reduced to an intermediate temperature range of approximately 400–700 °C which improved performance and, subsequently, commercialized SOFCs as portable power sources. However, at reduced temperature, challenges such as an increase in internal resistance of the fuel cell components arise. Although, this may not be as serious as problems encountered at high temperature, it still significantly affects the performance of SOFCs. This review paper addresses the work of researchers in the application of nanotechnology in fabricating SOFCs through distinct methods. These methods have successfully omitted or at least reduced the internal resistance and showed considerable improvement in power density of the SOFCs at reduced temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]