Direct Methanol Fuel Cell has licensed a patent from CalTech to build methanol-based gadget chargers, a week after Toshiba took the wraps off its own portable fuel cell.
The patent will allow Direct Methanol Fuel Cell to design smaller portable charging packages for devices, such as mobile phones, said Viaspace, the parent company of Direct Methanol Fuel Cell. The company said Monday it has a partnership with Samsung and others to commercialize methanol fuel cartridges.
Toshiba introduced a methanol fuel-cell charger for Japan last week.
(Credit: Toshiba)A direct methanol fuel cell converts the liquid fuel methanol into electricity through a chemical reaction between oxygen and methanol. It's a technology that a number of electronics companies are looking at to extend the life of power-hungry devices, such as laptops and mobile phones.
Last week, Toshiba unveiled the Dynario, an external charging device which is now available in Japan at a cost of about $325. The company has not said if it has plans to introduce the methanol fuel cell in other countries.
The Dynario can store enough energy to charge about two mobile phones and it uses an embedded lithium ion battery to store electricity.
Powering a laptop with a portable liquid fuel is getting closer to reality. But don't expect to buy one for your next birthday.
PolyFuel, a company that develops fuel cell membranes, said Wednesday it has developed a prototype laptop--a Lenovo T40 ThinkPad--that uses methanol cartridges and a fuel cell as a power source.
The company intends to show it off to consumer electronics and PC manufacturers in the coming weeks. PolyFuel, which was spun out of what is now called SRI International, has about 19 customers, including NEC and Sanyo.
The functioning prototype is a proof of concept, rather than a finished product. The methanol cartridges, which are about the size of a deck of cards, can be replaced without having to power down the machine.
The prototype uses a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) that converts methanol, also known as wood or methyl alcohol, to electricity to run the laptop. A single cartridge can provide 10 hours of battery life.
PolyFuel declined to provide an image of the prototype, but company President and CEO Jim Balcom described it to me.
He said the fuel cell power supply bulges out slightly more than the larger nine-cell battery on a Lenovo T40. It also raises the laptop a bit.
Despite the slightly larger size, Balcom said laptop manufacturers were keenly interested in the last prototype, because one power supply would provide as much run-time as about three lithium-ion batteries and would be substantially lighter.
Timing?
PolyFuel's strategy is to license its system design and to sell its membrane technology to manufacturers.
A number of consumer electronics makers have announced product development efforts on direct methanol fuel cells.
The advantage of direct methanol fuel cells is that the cartridges are portable and can provide longer running time, say backers.
MTI MicroFuel Cells, another direct methanol fuel cell company, said last week that its Mobion fuel cell lasted 2,700 continuous hours, hitting a Department of Energy target set for fuel-cell funding.
Manufacturers are keen to find ways to extend battery life so they can add more features to portable devices. Also, replaceable methanol cartridges would let people go all day without lugging around an AC adapter.
The U.S. Department of Transportation last year approved the transport of methanol fuel cells on airplanes, according to MTI and the Methanol Institute.
Then again, portable electronics powered by alternative fuels have been promised for years without any commercial products.
One of the main reasons is because the science for direct methanol fuel cells is quite difficult, particularly to make devices small enough, according to Balcom.
He said manufacturers estimate that these devices could fuel between 10 percent and 30 percent of laptops. Ten percent of laptops could be considered a niche market yet is still significant in size.
"We've never been on of the opinion that fuel cells are going to replace batteries wholesale. (Batteries) are great if you need a couple of hours," Balcom said.
He said that initial commercialization of fuel cell consumer electronics in two to three years is feasible.
"It's not a question of if, it's a question of when" fuel cells are used in devices, he said. "It's difficult to predict because the science is so challenging."
MTI Micro and Korean manufacturer NeoSolar said on Thursday they will build prototype ultra-mobile PCs powered by fuel cells.
The two companies said they will develop digital devices that use MTI Micro's Mobion fuel cells, which use liquid methanol cartridges as a fuel.
Dr. James Y. Yu, president of NeoSolar, showing off his company's Wibrain ultra mobile PC and the Mobion chip.
(Credit: NeoSolar)The development could lead to external chargers, snap-on attachments or devices with the Mobion fuel cell embedded in them, the companies said.
Fuel cells are being developed for a wide range of applications, from back-up electricity in buildings and data centers to transportation.
Rather drawing on tanks of hydrogen to make electricity in a fuel cell, MTI Micro's Mobion uses methanol. The advantage is that it's a liquid fuel that can be easily transported and store, say backers. The byproduct of using the fuel is water and carbon dioxide, in relatively small amounts.
MTI has signed on a partners to develop GPS devices and digital cameras that use its fuel cells.
Other consumer electronics manufacturers, including Sharp, are also developing direct methanol to fuel cell chargers.
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