Demand for light-weight, long-lasting and cost-effective portable power sources is growing, as the energy requirements of cellular phones and other portable consumer electronics products increase to support ever-expanding feature sets. Fuel cells offer strong potential to support longer runtimes, greater functionality, and wireless convenience in these consumer electronic products. The question is: when can fuel cells deliver on this promise in the marketplace?
This Portelligent Tech Perspective provides a brief overview of fuel cell technology, including the dominant DMFC (Direct Methanol Fuel Cell) and alternative approaches; discusses the application requirements in consumer electronic products that make development of a successor technology to the Li-ion battery a target worthy of substantial investment; and summarizes R&D activity reported at over 25 firms in Japan, Asia, North America, and Europe.