OYSTER BAY, N.Y.-Micro fuel cells face a number of hurdles before wide-scale use and acceptance is possible, according to research from ABI. The firm emphasized that regulatory approvals must be granted for final product designs and a distribution network must be established for those products.
“As long as technical issues such as water management, volumetric energy density and complete packaging exist, it would be challenging for micro fuel cell companies to deliver their products in 2004,” added Atakan Ozbek, ABI’s director of energy research. “I certainly believe that it can be achieved by the end of 2004; however, we have not seen any major developments in recent months by certain bellwether companies yet.”
Earlier this year, Japanese companies Toshiba and NEC said they plan to introduce micro fuel cells in 2004 and wireless giant NTT DoCoMo Inc. announced it plans to include micro fuel cells in its third-generation handsets in 2004. However, based on its research, ABI expects the first commercial micro fuel cell products to appear in the 2004-2005 time span, with 5,000 units shipped. ABI further expects global shipments to reach 200 million units in 2011.
Meanwhile, development of micro fuel cells continues, as evidenced by news from chip maker STMicroelectronics, which said it has developed technology for a fuel cell to power mobile phones and increase the time between battery charges to 20 days. ST said the fuel cell could be commercial within a few years.
