The future of direct methanol fuel cells has received a huge boost with a breakthrough in the development of the technology.

Experts at Toray Industries believe they have found a way of enhancing the potential of the membrane electrode assembly and the polymer electrolyte membrane used in MEA, the main element of the fuel cells.

By inhibiting the "methanol cross-over" that occurs during the reaction that takes place in a fuel cell, scientists say they can improve the power density.

Toray believes that the advances will help electronic devices such as notebook computers and mobile phones to become significantly smaller and will provide them with vastly increased memory.

There are also hopes that the technological advances could be used for the development of electrolyte membranes in cars.

Many experts believe that direct methanol fuel cells will, in the long-term, be used more widely than hydrogen fuel cells in electronic portable devices due to their advantages in size and weight.


Ÿ Adfero Ltd