SGER: A New Innovative Miniature Passive Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

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A New Innovative Miniature Passive Direct Methanol Fuel CellBy Faghri, A.1, and Guo, Z. 1United Technologies Endowed ChairProfessor in Thermal-Fluids Engineering & DeanSchool of EngineeringUniversity of Connecticut261 Glenbrook Rd.Storrs, CT 06269-2237860-486-2221Faghri@engr.uconn.eduThe proposal was received as an unsolicited submission to the Chemical and Transport Systems Divisions in the Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER) category. It was assigned to the Thermal Transport and Thermal Processing Program. The miniature direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) appears to be a promising power source for portable applications. The existing actively managed DMFCs offer fundamental attractions in relatively simple system design and low-temperature operation. However, their reliance on moving parts - as well as other issues - prevents their being scaled down to a sufficiently small size to accommodate use in portable power applications. To solve these problems, we propose a new miniature passive DMFC at 10-20W that includes a fuel cell stack and ancillary systems. The passive approach has no moving parts and significantly reduces the cost and volume/weight (by 1/5) compared to active systems. The proposed methodology will utilize novel and high-risk techniques such as passive methanol delivery and storage, innovative thermal management for operation at extreme environmental conditions, and methanol concentration control.