Formic Acid Fuel Cell - History

History

During previous investigations, researchers dismissed formic acid as a practical fuel because of the high overpotential shown by experiments: this meant the reaction appeared to be too difficult to be practical. However, in 2005- 2006, other researchers (in particular Richard Masel's group at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) found that the reason for the low performance was the usage of platinum as a catalyst, as it is common in most other types of fuel cells: using palladium instead, they claim to have obtained better performance than equivalent direct methanol fuel cells. Tekion holds the exclusive license to formic-acid fuel cell technology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The company now is focusing on developing a miniature hybrid battery/fuel-cell unit called the Formira Power Pack and hopes to introduce the packs in the fourth quarter of 2007. The Power Packs rely on the fuel cell, instead of a conventional electrical source like a wall outlet, to recharge the batteries. When the fuel is exhausted, users simply replace the empty fuel cartridge with a fresh one. Because of the high power density of the fuel cell, it should provide about double the time between charges. This technology is expected to only cost about 10-15% more than traditional batteries.