PolyFuel touts improved fuel cell membrane

PolyFuel has developed a key component for fuel cells that works more efficiently than the available alternatives and can be used with existing manufacturing techniques, the company said at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Fuel cells are being developed by several vendors as an alternative to conventional batteries for notebook PCs and other small electronics gadgets. They are seen as more environmentally friendly than existing batteries because they produce no toxic by-products, and they can be “recharged” instantly by topping them up with fuel.

In direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs), methanol and water are mixed and then react with air through a thin sheet of plastic called a membrane to produce electricity. The chemical and physical structure of the membrane are key to the level of power the fuel cell can produce and how long it can sustain it for, the company said.

To work well, the membrane needs to act as a barrier separating the water and fuel on one side, and the air on the other side, said Rick Cooper, vice president of business development at PolyFuel.

Many membranes used by DMFC makers today are based on technologies developed 40 years ago for the U.S. Gemini space program, and allow methanol and water to leak through them, reducing fuel cell efficiency, he said. However, there are few alternatives, and fuel cell developers have spent heavily on technology to manufacture fuel cells based on such membranes, Cooper said.

Last year, PolyFuel said it had developed a much less leaky membrane using a different material. The technology would enable developers to make DMFCs about a third smaller, and which could produce electricity for a third longer than those using conventional membranes, the company said at the time.

The new membrane was difficult to build into fuel cells, however, because the membrane material did not easily bond with surrounding parts, according to the company. PolyFuel said on Tuesday that it developed a new version of its membrane that can be built into fuel cells using conventional manufacturing processes.

“Overcoming this manufacturing challenge has been the basis of our breakthrough announced today; our new membrane is fully compatible with all our customer’s investments in DMFC technologies, and it retains all of the advantages that we announced for our original product,” Cooper said.

PolyFuel has received orders for samples for its latest membrane from five Asian fuel cell developers, it said. Cooper would not disclose the names of the companies, but most, if not all, are major Japanese electronics companies, he said.

PolyFuel will start manufacturing the more advanced membranes in about two months, PolyFuel President and CEO Jim Balcom said in an interview. Production will be at least several thousand membranes per month, he said.

The company is now looking for a manufacturing partner to go into higher volume production, Cooper said.

“The next big challenge is to produce high volumes as our customers look to make products for the marketplace,” he said.