Toshiba Develops Thumb-Sized Fuel Cell

Toshiba Corp., Japan's leading electronic maker, announced in June 2004 that it has developed the world's smallest power supply system using a passive direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). It is designed for handheld electronic devices such as "wearable" audio players or wireless headsets. The company aims to put the newly developed product into commercial use in 2005, after making some adaptations for specific applications and improving reliability.

The thumb-sized fuel cell is 22 millimeters wide by 56 millimeters long and has an output of 100 milliwatts. By introducing technology for the catalyst in the electrodes that uses nano-sized particles at high-density, the company succeeded in optimizing the total design and minimizing the cell size.

The fuel cell generates electricity without the need for diluted methanol. One charge of the built-in 2-milliliter fuel tank is enough to power a small audio player for up to 20 hours.

Toshiba, which has developed active DMFCs for laptop computers and cell phones, also plans to further develop its passive DMFC technology for broader use.


http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2004_06/pr2401.htm

Posted: 2004/11/30 04:36:28 PM
Japanese version