Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Stack Garners Commercial Interest
MST fuel cell researchers built and incorporated a 70°C Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) stack into a complete 60-W self-sustained power system developed in collaboration with Ball Aerospace, attracting intense commercial interest. At a higher operating temperature of 100-110°C, they achieved a twenty-fold reduction in precious metal (Pt) loading at less than 40% power density penalty. And, in collaboration with Motorola, they achieved a 20% fuel conversion efficiency with the low-power DMFC for portable electronic at 28°C. The MST fuel cell team also demonstrated complete tolerance to 500 ppm CO in reformate fuel. This is five times the DOE Partnership for New Generation Vehicles technical target for 2004.

Chlor-alkali Cell Improved
An MST fuel cell team greatly improved a chlor-alkali cell using an energy saving oxygen cathode, so to extend its stable performance to greater than 3 months at very high throughput, and to eliminate a troublesome byproduct (sodium peroxide). these breakthroughs bring this decade old idea close to industrial implementation for the first time.