Joseph J. Hartvigsen
Ceramatec, Inc.
Mr. Hartvigsen is currently the Senior Engineer for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell, Hydrogen and
Synfuels Technologies at Ceramatec, Inc. He is responsible for engineering aspects of the fuel
cell, reforming, hydrogen and synthetic fuels production research projects at Ceramatec, and is
Principal Investigator of a number of these programs. He received a B.S. in Chemical
Engineering from Brigham Young University. He then earned a M.S. in Chemical Engineering
from Iowa State University, where his research at the DOE’s Ames Laboratory produced a new
process for silicon nitride synthesis. His earlier industrial experience was in the defense
aerospace field, with Hercules Aerospace and the Boeing Defense and Space Group.
Responsibilities there included thermal, fluids, thermodynamic, and mass transfer analysis of
solid rocket propulsion, thermal protection systems for hypersonic aircraft, research on aircraft
visual/IR signature reduction (e.g., contrails), splashdown analysis of manned space vehicles,
and analysis of manufacturing processes for advanced materials. In 1991, Mr. Hartvigsen joined
Ceramatec, and was tasked with developing a detailed 3-D SOFC stack model. His work in
SOFC system engineering has led to more than a dozen patents and several dozen papers related
to SOFC systems, fuel processing, interconnect, and cell designs. His most recent research
interests are in plasma reforming, fuel cell power electronics, high temperature electrolysis, coelectrolysis,
and fuel synthesis, where his project team at Ceramatec has made major advances.
He has served for 6 years on the Governor’s Centers of Excellence Advisory Council, whose
objective is to facilitate commercialization of technologies developed at the major research
universities within the state.
