MTI Micro Fuel Cells

The authors thank Dr. Ying Wang (MTI Micro Fuel Cells) and Dr. Lisa Xiao (PEMEAS) for reviewing parts of the manuscript and for their valuable comments and suggestions. 

Fig. 6 The molded flat array of air-breathing DMFCs, shown held between the fingers on the right, generates power in the range 0.5-1 W in a concept prototype of a DMFC system for portable consumer electronics applications. (MTI Micro Fuel Cells).

DMFC System Using Neat Methanol by MTI Micro Fuel Cells... 

Schematic of an MTI DMFC system. Courtesy of MTI Micro Fuel Cells.

Unit cell performance change in a stack during 2700 hours of testing (50 pm PFSA membrane). Courtesy of MTI Micro Fuel Cells. 

MTI Micro Fuel Cells Inc. A world leader in developing and manufacturing portable micro direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) up to a few watts using neat methanol as the fuel. It is located in Albany, New York, USA. Company website http //www. mtimicrofuelcells.com. 

In an international comparison, the US company MTI Micro Fuel Cells developed a passive system (see Figure 1.4) with a power density of lOOmWcm" (89). However, no information is available on the catalyst loading of the MEA. Catalyst loadings in the range 6-16mgcm per cell can be found in the literature for passive DMFC MEAs. 

Companies like Poly Fuel, Neah Power Systems, Medis Technologies, MTI MicroFuel Cells, Alberta Research Council, Toshiba, Hitachi, NEC, CASIO, AIST and Honda Technical Research Laboratory are exploring innovative ways for reduction in component count, elimination of auxiliaries such as pumps and valves, alternatives to membranes and packaging technologies to realize an elegant, simpler micro fuel cell product. Hitachi, Toshiba, NEC and NTT DoCoMo have all announced plans to sell methanol-powered devices (Bostaph et al., 2002, Dillon et al., 2004). 

MTI Micro introduced in 2004 the integrated direct methanol fuel cell technology Mobion , and in 2007 the Mobion Chip . This small device, with a volume of only 9 cm, is fed with pure methanol to produce 84 mW.cm. These prototypes are passive DMFC and their design include a fuel conditioning system which allows operate in a temperature range of 0 0 °C, independent of the humidity and cell position, which is particularly useful in portable applications, such as mobile phones [40]. 

MTI Micro pushes leadership with its Mobion chip. Fuel Cells Bull 2007(7) ... 

MTI Micro debuts embedded DMFC GPS prototype. Fuel Cells Bull 2008(5) 1... 

Current developers of DMFC include SFC SMART Fuel Cell, Motorola Labs, MTI Micro, Ultracell and Toshiba. 

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