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FEBRUARY 25, 16:58 EST
OTTAWA -- Scientists at the Energy Visions Inc. (EVI) Fuel Cell Division in Ottawa say they made a major breakthrough in their direct methanol fuel cell ("DMFC") program with an experimental new electrode that promises significant improvements in power and efficiency.
The DFMC converts the chemical energy of liquid methanol directly into electrical current without burning the methanol. Direct methanol fuel cells reportedly convert more than 34 percent of the methanol's energy content of the methanol into usable power.
"The new electrode, when used in the advanced configuration of EVI's proprietary flowing electrolyte DMFC design, has produced a fuel cell that operates at a higher voltage than PEM [proton exchange membrane]-based DMFCs and has several times the power density than our earlier prototypes," says Douglas James, general manager of EVI's Fuel Cell Division.
"We plan to embed this new electrode design in the prototype stack that we expect to demonstrate in March 2002 for the military," James says. "We believe this breakthrough places us in the forefront with the very best PEM-based DMFC designs - and with significant headroom for improvement in both performance and cost."
EVI scientists developed the new electrode together with Karl Kordesch at the University of Graz, Austria, EVI officials say. The DMFC program is a joint venture between EVI and the Alberta Research Council Inc. in Calgary, Alberta.
For more information please contact EVI by phone at 613-990-9373, by fax at 613-990-9464, by post at Building M-16, 1500 Montreal Road, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.energyvi.com.
Military & Aerospace Electronics
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