A consortium including Johnson Matthey has secured a grant of $3.6 million to help develop nanotechnology which could potentially facilitate a range of micro-fuel cell applications.

Together with Carbon Nanotechnologies and Motorola, Johnson Matthey will seek to work on the "free standing" carbon nanotube electrodes used in micro-fuel cells.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) awarded the grant, which will go some way towards financing a three year, $7.4 million project focussing on the unique properties of single wall carbon-nanotubes.

The manufacture of these nanotubes is seen as crucial in determining fuel cell performance, durability and manufacturability.

Professor Richard E. Smalley, Carbon Nanotechnologies chairman and co-founder, explained: "Single wall carbon-nanotubes will enable many new products and I believe that fuel cell development will be an early beneficiary of their powerful properties. Carbon nanotechnology should prove to be one of the great enablers in solving our country's energy problems."

Experts say the development of micro-fuel cell systems will play a key role in the production of fuel cell powered electronic devices, power generation and automotive applications.