Toshiba claims fuel cell breakthrough
The device, which is only a prototype at present, is designed to be used in small electronic devices such as MP3 players and wireless headsets.
The direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) measures 22mm by 56mm by 9.1mm (including the fuel tank), and when full will weigh 8.5g. According to Toshiba, the DMFC will be able to deliver 100 milliwatts of power for up to 20 hours, from a single 2cc shot of methanol. The Japanese company says that topping up the device with additional methanol will be an easy process.
The fuel-cell industry is well-used to seeing demonstrations and prototypes of innovative new devices. Commercial products are much less common, but Toshiba says that it expects that DMFC-powered handheld devices will be on the market by 2005.
The DMFC generates electricity through a reaction between diluted methanol and oxygen (in the form of air), each in opposite sides of the cell. When they come into contact at a permeable membrane, hydrogen ions will flow from the methanol side to the oxygen, which also drives electrons along a circuit connecting the two sides of the cell. The methanol and oxygen are converted to carbon dioxide and water.
Previous Toshiba methanol fuel cells have used a pump to bring the two together, but this latest prototype uses a technique called the 'passive fuel supply system'. This feeds pure methanol directly into the cell and combines it with water, setting up a concentration gradient where the fuel touching the membrane is 10 percent methanol and 90 percent water, as required.
Last autumn Toshiba showed off a prototype DMFC device that used an active fuel supply. This was capable of generating one watt of power but was significantly larger than this latest prototype, at 100mm by 60mm by 30mm.
Several other companies are also trying to crack the fuel-cell market. Earlier this week, MTI MicroFuel Cells showed off prototypes for fuel cells that could power notebooks and handheld computers, and back in January PolyFuel demonstrated a catalytic membrane for use in methanol fuel cells for laptops and mobile phones.