MTI Micro is showing off its new Mobion fuel cell technology, which it plans to use for a variety of handheld and industrial uses.
MTI MicroFuel Cells has announced the introduction of its Mobion fuel cell technology. MTI Micro's Mobion is based on direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) technology, which the company believes will ultimately enable it to power portable devices 2 to 10 times longer than an equivalent size battery pack, while allowing for instant, cord-free re-charging.
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Mobion's DMFC technology is designed to address one of the main limitations of fuel cell technology. Fuel cells are based not on the reaction of highly reactive chemicals the way conventional batteries are but on simpler, cleaner inputs such as water, hydrogen, and methanol. Another attribute of fuel cells is that they are not "recharged" or "replaced" as much as they are "refilled". Besides being cleaner than conventional battery technology, fuel cells also promise longer battery life between replace/refill cycles.
In most fuel cell reactions, water is produced at the cathode of the battery (the negative end), which must then be pumped to the anode (positive end) to be used as fuel by tiny micro-pumps. MTI's Mobion technology is designed to move the water from one end of the cell to the other without the need for miniature pumps and plumbing, saving space, wight, cost, and energy efficiency.
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To show off its new technology, MTI has designed two prototype handheld devices, a portable gaming device and smartphone, both running on methanol fuel cells built using MTI's new system. Neither is a working product, however, and mass-market devices powered by Mobion fuel cells may not be available for a while yet.
MTI Micro will ultimately address three primary markets, industrial, military and consumer electronics, through a phased entry approach. The company plans its first shipment of Mobion power packs to the industrial market for use in retail, distribution and warehousing applications (such as RFID tag readers) where the shorter run-time and re-charge maintenance of traditional batteries reduce worker productivity. Military applications will come next, where long-life, ruggedized power sources are a necessity.
The broader end-user market will come last, through partners including Gillette/Duracell. The company plans to target handhelds, communicators, and other high-power devices that can benefit from long mean-time-between-recharge power cycles.
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