Key requirements of micro fuel cell system for portable electronics

Fuel cells have potentially higher energy density than batteries and promise a significant increase in power availability for portable electronics. However, developing a fuel cell system for portable electronics presents several engineering challenges. To achieve high energy density requires miniaturization of the "rest of the system", which can be achieved by incorporation of emerging MEMS technology. High conversion efficiency also presents a challenge to portable electronics designers to provide high efficiency electronics that support fuel cell operation. An additional challenge concerns the safety of a micro fuel cell system, particularly with respect to fuel handling and storage. A micro direct methanol fuel cell system was designed and tested at Motorola Labs. Components of the system as well as the basic structure are discussed in detail in the paper.