Technology developed at the California Institute of Technology that enables fuel cells for micro applications has been patented and licensed exclusively to a subsidiary of VIASPACE, Inc., an Irvine, CA-based alternative energy company that provides products and technology for renewable, clean energy. U.S. Patent 7,585,577 was licensed to Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Corporation (DMFCC). The inventors are Sekharipuram R. Narayanan and Thomas I. Valdez, both with the NASA/Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where the direct methanol fuel cell was invented.
The new patent is related to monopolar fuel cell stacks. Traditionally, direct fuel cells have employed stacked unit cells arranged vertically like slices of bread in a loaf. Monopolar stacks use the same unit cells, but the “bread slices” can be laid horizontally next to each other. This allows for a thinner fuel cell that is more suitable for many micro applications like mobile phones. According to the patent, the stack design offers two- to three-fold improvement in power densities. The technology is suitable for manufacturing, uses inexpensive plastic materials, and is easy to assemble and troubleshoot. DMFCC says the technology substantially improves the commercialization prospects of portable direct methanol fuel cell power sources.
DMFCC already holds an extensive portfolio of direct methanol fuel cell patents licensed from Caltech and the University of Southern California. “This new patent adds significant value to our intellectual property portfolio,” says Carl Kukkonen, CEO of VIASPACE and DMFCC. “It will be difficult for any company to go to market with direct methanol fuel cells for micro applications — or other applications for that matter — without first obtaining protection under the Caltech patents which we have licensed.”
Source: Reuters