Can methanol be transported on a commercial aircraft?
For domestic air shipments, maximum allowable package sizes are 1 liter net per package to be transported within the baggage compartment of a passenger aircraft, and 60 liters net per package for cargo aircraft, each "packed in strong outer packaging". These exemptions are waived and methanol can be carried in the passenger compartment of a commercial aircraft, if the methanol is in an aqueous solution of no greater concentration than 24%.
In December 2004, The United Nations (UN) Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods voted to establish model regulations for shipping methanol fuel cartridges for micro fuel cell devices as cargo. The new UN shipping name, number and packaging instructions will assist international air transport authorities in considering regulations to allow passengers to carry and use these cartridges on-board airplanes.
Codes and standards for methanol are critical for introducing Mobion® into the consumer market. There have been a series of regulatory approvals for methanol and, while we have not yet received formal documentation, we recently learned that a regulation allowing methanol fuel cell cartridges for consumer electronics in the passenger compartment of airplanes was approved by the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization. The ICAO regulation, to be published soon and go into effect as early as January 1, 2007, is the latest in a series of regulatory approvals that lay the foundation for consumer methanol-based products like Mobion®.  Back to top
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Cross-over issue can ONLY be addressed, at least in principle, with controlled dosing of methanol into a re-circulated anode feed requiring a micro-fluidics subsystem which adds significant complexity and parasitic power loss. Is that true?
No. MTI Micro's Mobion® technology allows direct feed of 100% methanol with a passive system. Back to top |
Does MTI Micro’s system run on 100% methanol? What does that mean? In repeated laboratory tests, our Mobion® technology platform operates on 100% methanol and our prototypes to date run on 100% methanol - Operating on high concentration of methanol means that the time a device is powered without having to recharge or re fuel can be extended and the size and weight of the fuel cell itself, may ultimately be decreased. Back to top |
How many employees does MTI Micro have? As of December 31, 2005, MTI Micro has more than sixty employees working on the development and commercialization of direct methanol micro fuel cells. Back to top |
How many patents does MTI Micro have? As of March 2006, MTI Micro has filed 77 patents (including applications) with more coming all the time. Back to top |
How much will a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) or a cartridge cost when commercial micro fuel cells are available? We are at an early stage in the development process where price and cost information are confidential to the company for competitive reasons and extremely difficult to predict with any certainty. Back to top |
Is it true that without a revolutionary membrane that practically stops methanol cross-over (while maintaining current output achieved with PFSA membranes), fuel utilization will be unacceptably low? No. We have demonstrated methanol fuel utilization of 90% with commercially available membranes using other cell features to correct for deficiency. Back to top |
What advantages does the Mobion® technology offer? When commercialized, MTI Micro's Mobion® technology could offer more energy to run a device for longer in a smaller overall package. Another advantage over current technologies, mainly lithium ion batteries, could be instant recharge from replacing small methanol cartridges, thus eliminating long recharge periods. Back to top |
What are some of the applications where direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) can be used?
While we are still selecting initial market entry points for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) products, we believe that direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) could be used in a number of applications, including as an energy solution for widely used, mass market, high volume, hand-held consumer devices, such as personal digital assistants (commonly referred to as PDAs), cell phones, digital cameras, and portable CD players. We also see opportunities for their use in a wide range of military and industrial products. Back to top |
What does “fuel-based energy density” mean? This is the amount of energy we can extract for each cc of fuel and is an important number for two reasons. First, since we can change the size of the fuel cartridge in our system, thereby changing the system energy density, the fuel-based energy density is an important design parameter for engineers. Second, it indicates the volume of fuel needed in the cartridge and thus the size of the replacement cartridge. Back to top |
What is Mobion®?
Mobion® is MTI Micro's trademarked name for the company's proprietary Direct Methanol Fuel Cell technology-based cord-free rechargeable power pack. MTI Micro's Mobion® cord free rechargeable technology is based on the culmination of work reflected in more than 70 patents (either granted or in application) that have collectively "cracked the code" on bringing DMFC power to hand held electronics.
The company has made a number of truly breakthrough discoveries which are intended to lead to a reliable, manufacturable and affordable DMFC power pack design that will have significant benefits over the status quo lithium-ion battery packs and competing micro fuel cell designs. These breakthroughs and patents result in a number of critical advantages, making Mobion® technology a milestone in portable fuel cell technology.
MTI Micro's Mobion® cord-free rechargeable power pack technology is being designed to increase run time (time until a recharge is needed) two to ten times over the status quo of lithium-ion batteries using the same amount of space and less weight. Mobion® eliminates the need to plug in to a power source for a recharge as well as providing an instant recharge. For the first time wireless and other electronic hand held devices will be "truly wireless", capable of going anywhere, anytime with no need to plug in or wait for a recharge Back to top |
What is MTI Micro’s relationship with Dupont? MTI micro signed an agreement with Dupont in August of 2001, to accelerate the development and commercialization of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) for wireless electronic devices. Back to top |
What is MTI Micro’s relationship with Duracell? In September 2003, MTI Micro entered into a strategic alliance agreement with Gillette and its Duracell division. The agreement provides for a multi-year exclusive partnership for the design, development and commercialization of a low power direct methanol micro fuel cell power system and a compatible fuel refill system. As part of the strategic alliance, both MTI Micro and Gillette will share and license from each other certain intellectual property assets, and both have the ability to earn royalties. In addition, Gillette has made an initial $1 million investment in MTI Micro common stock, with the potential of an additional investment of $4 million subject to agreed milestones. Back to top |
What is MTI Micro’s relationship with Intermec? In December 2002, MTI Micro signed a join development and supply agreement with Intermec to develop MTI Micro's direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) systems for future Intermec mobile computing equipment. In 2004, MTI Micro delivered their first product to Intermec - an integrated micro fuel cell product powering Intermec's Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Reader. Back to top |
What is MTI Micro’s relationship with Samsung Electronics, Co., Ltd?
In May 2006, MTI Micro signed an exclusive alliance agreement with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a technology innovator in the telecommunications industry, to develop next-generation fuel cell prototypes for Samsung’s mobile phone business. Mobion®, has been chosen to power a series of prototypes designed for Samsung’s mobile phone and mobile phone accessories. Together, the two companies will develop, test, and evaluate Mobion® technology for various mobile phone applications. Back to top |
What is MTI Micro’s relationship with the RF Division of Harris Corporation? MTI Micro entered into two separate agreements with the RF Division of Harris Corporation, one in November 2002 and a follow on agreement in September 2003, to design and develop prototypes for military applications, such as the Falcon II tactical communications radio. Under the September 2003 agreement, Harris agreed to share costs with MTI Micro for the development and delivery of Prototypes to Harris for communications devices. This agreements follows the successful development and delivery of prototypes to Harris pursuant other November 2002 agreement. Back to top |
What is MTI Micro’s target market? Initially, MTI Micro will address vertically integrated markets. These markets include military, and industrial applications like portable communications devices, wireless scanners, handheld inventory control devices, military power packs, and others. Subsequently, MTI Micro will enter into the horizontal markets that span a broad range of consumer mass-market portable electronic devices. Back to top |
What is MTI Micro’s technology differentiation? MTI Micro's Mobion® technology and architecture is being developed with a design-for-manufacturability approach. The simple, complete system has the potential to reduce the parts count and provide high energy content in the smallest total package by utilizing 100% ("neat") methanol. The neat methanol is fed directly into the anode side of the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) thereby eliminating the need to carry unnecessary water or to have micro-pumps within the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) system. Back to top |
What is the potential size of the market for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC)?
The market for rechargeable batteries or power packs is large, well-established and growing. The consumer market is estimated to be about $15 billion by 2010 (source: Frost & Sullivan) and spans a broad range of mass market, portable electronic devices used by consumers around the world. While it would be attractive to site the entire market for battery power packs, factors likes fuel cell adoption, market timing, consumer and OEM acceptance, product performance variability, reliability and consistency, and target market penetration rates, will vary. Accordingly, we believe that initial market entry points and market sizing predictions for the next five to ten years will be substantially less than the full market for battery power packs currently existing. Back to top |
What is your fuel-based energy density? We have achieved over 0.9 Wh/cc in laboratory fuel cells and have demonstrated 0.6 Wh/cc from prototype systems. Back to top |
What will Duracell and MTI Micro be responsible for under the agreement signed in September? Under the agreement, MTI Micro is responsible for the commercialization of the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) system, and Duracell is responsible for the commercialization of the fuel cartridge refill system. Both companies share the responsibility to develop their respective systems to assure interoperability as products for the high volume consumer markets. Back to top |
When did MTI Micro launch its first product? On December 14, 2004, MTI Micro announced its first production shipment of an integrated micro fuel cell product powering a portable radio frequency identification (RFID) reader from Intermec Technologies Corporation. MTI Micro's launch of its first Mobion® product is a milestone for the micro fuel cell industry. Back to top |
Who is MTI Micro? MTI Micro is a majority-owned subsidiary of MTI. MTI Micro’s minority shareholders include DuPont, Gillette, private investors and various founding employees. MTI Micro is committed to the development and commercialization of Mobion® enabled direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) power packs for use in portable electronics devices. Back to top |
Will micro fuel cells replace batteries? The demand is growing for all types of portable power - with different devices requiring different types of power sources, so we see a need for both battery technologies and micro fuel cells. Back to top |
