PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011

CONTACT: Jim Doyle

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                              July 6, 1995

NEWEST FUEL CELLS SHOW GREAT POTENTIAL FOR ENERGY INDUSTRY

     A new type of fuel cell powered by a water-methanol mixture 
and air -- being developed under a federal laboratory-industry 
partnership -- could lead to a $50 billion a year industry and 
create 500,000 new jobs by the year 2002. 

     The fuel cell, developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 
could be the best choice to power zero-emission vehicles, homes, 
commercial facilities and light industry, according to industrial 
partner DTI Technologies, Inc., of Los Angeles.

     The company projected the market for fuel cells alone to be 
more than $8 billion a year by 2002 and the systems which will 
operate off the fuel cell will become a $50 billion a year 
industry. The fuel cells could give energy efficient, non-
polluting hybrid electric vehicles an edge on the marketplace of 
environmentally safe transportation by the end of the century.

     The fuel cell's simplicity as a clean energy alternative to 
the use of fossil fuel-powered combustion engines will have 
widespread appeal in the automotive industry, but the technology 
has many other applications, said Dr. Gerald Halpert, task manager 
of the fuel cell project at JPL.  

     Among them, these new, highly efficient fuel cells could be 
used to replace batteries in battlefield radios and consumer 
electronics, Halpert said. Additionally, they could be used to 
provide emergency power for situations brought about by floods, 
hurricanes or major earthquakes.

     The technology, developed with funding from the Advanced 
Research Projects Agency, has been licensed by DTI Technologies 
Inc., of Los Angeles, and is available to prospective 
manufacturers.

     The solid-state energy storage device, called the "direct 
methanol liquid-feed fuel cell," simply uses noble metal catalysts 
and carbon electrodes as the reaction sites on both sides of a 
solid polymer membrane. That configuration is similar to a 
battery, except that the energy is provided externally by the 3 
percent methanol solution stored or flowing into the fuel chamber.

     As long as the methanol solution is available, the fuel cell 
is always operational, unlike a battery which runs out of energy 
when its internal materials are depleted. Energy is provided by 
the small amount of methanol in water inserted into the electrode 
chamber. The 3 percent methanol is capable of providing a current 
of 50 amps continuously on a 4-by-6-inch electrode.

     The direct methanol liquid feed fuel cell system has numerous 
advantages over the conventional fuel cell system based on gas-
feed designs, Halpert said.  The cells do not need a way to 
vaporize fuel, nor do they require a complex humidifier. Its 
simplicity results in a smaller and lighter energy-producing 
package.

     The work of JPL's Electrochemical Technologies Group within 
the Electric Power Section has resulted in eight new technology 
inventions and one major patent application, said JPL group 
supervisor Rao Surampudi. 

     This new technology is currently being considered for several 
Department of Defense applications, electric vehicles and 
emergency power systems. DTI has obtained a license from the 
California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 
commercial use.

     The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) is continuing 
its support with a program to develop a replacement for the 
battery used in Army radios, thus eliminating costly handling and 
disposal problems and tripling its operational time in the field. 
The fuel cell alternative would allow for continuous operation in 
the battlefield with a small addition of methanol. Giner Inc., of 
Waltham, Mass. and the University of Southern California are 
members of the ARPA team working with JPL on this technology 
development.

     DTI is funding the development work through JPL's Technology 
Affiliates Office to develop a 1-kilowatt system and is planning 
to produce the fuel cells in production quantities through one of 
its sublicensees, Detroit Center Tool Inc. 

     The Technology Affiliates Program is designed to help U.S. 
companies improve their competitive positions in the global 
economy by transferring JPL technology into the marketplace. The 
seven-year-old program now includes nearly 60 companies which have 
generated more than 170 technologies for transfer to benefit 
companies and the public.

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6/2/95 JJD
#9546




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