Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Corporation To Begin Sampling Cartridge Product
Pasadena, CA - VIASPACE Inc., a company that works to transform proven space and defense technologies from NASA and the Department of Defense into hardware and software solutions, announced that its subsidiary, Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Corporation (DMFCC), has completed product development of its first methanol fuel cell cartridge and plans to begin sampling with customers. The DMFCC cartridge will be displayed at DMFCC's booth at Fuel Cell Expo 2006, being held in Tokyo January 25 - 27, 2006. The cartridge was co-developed with and manufactured by DMFCC's Korean partner, SMC Co., Ltd.
Dr. Carl Kukkonen, CEO of VIASPACE, said, "Fuel cells are expected to gain a substantial market share because they offer longer operating time as compared to current lithium ion batteries and may be instantaneously recharged by simply replacing the disposable fuel cartridge. DMFCC plans to provide cartridge samples to several potential customers for testing. The current design is flexible and can be easily modified to meet the specific requirements of each customer."
Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Corporation focuses on producing disposable fuel cartridges containing liquid fuels, such as methanol, to provide the energy source for laptop computers, cell phones and other portable electronic devices powered by direct methanol fuel cells. These fuel cell powered devices are expected to be introduced into the marketplace by major electronic product manufacturers in 2007. Leading consumer electronic companies including Toshiba, NEC, Hitachi, Panasonic and Sanyo in Japan, and Samsung and LG in Korea have announced the development of direct methanol fuel cells.
The DMFCC methanol cartridge holds 50 cm3 of 100% methanol and is designed for a laptop computer and similar applications. One cartridge is expected to provide five to 10 hours of computer operation depending on the efficiency of the fuel cell. DMFCC will work with customers to develop cartridges with custom sizes and shapes for their particular applications. Cell phones will require smaller cartridges, and other applications may require larger ones. DMFCC also plans to develop cartridges for other fuels such as formic acid or ethanol, as customers require. DMFCC cartridges are designed to meet the stringent safety standards proposed by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
SOURCE: VIASPACE