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U.S. & EU Micro and Small Fuel Cell R&D, Commercial Implication and Market/Industry Trends December 2002 English or Japanese Version $998.00 182 pages Executive Summary Power consumption exists as one of the most serious challenges to the continuing mobile device evolution. With advancement in processor and display technology far outpacing similar advancement in battery technology, vendors must develop careful power consumption strategies. Significant resources are devoted to seeking out the next major battery chemistry improvement since the evolution of Lithium-ion in the early 1990s, and component vendors are striving to push the performance and power management envelope. Power requirements for portable devices in the future are to a significant degree driven by MooreÕs law. This is because more powerful processors and chips, which will run at faster clock speeds, will be placed into these electronic devices thus enabling more features and functions. These new features and functions will require more energy. To reach higher energy densities we need to look at newer, non-traditional sources of energy. One of the most promising approaches for providing high energy density and longer runtime to portable products resides in a class of electrochemical cells that use air-breathing electrodes. Metal-air cells and hydrogen fuel cells are two prominent examples of this air-breathing electrochemical technology. In metal-air cells the air electrode is combined with a metal anode, such as zinc or aluminum. In a fuel cell, the air electrode is combined with hydrogen as the anode to complete the electrochemical couple. Fuel cells have the theoretical potential to increase the energy density to a higher level than most advanced battery technologies. We will be investigating fuel cells units in an electrical power output ranging from less than 1 watt to around several hundred watts and those companies that are at the forefront of research and development of this hot new technology. Even though the fuel cell was discovered over one hundred years ago, there are few records of significant development work in portable fuel cells until the early 1990s. However to date most of companies in this market have only produced one or two prototypes. Without fuel cells, reliance will remain upon the incremental improvements in the energy densities of batteries. Specifically, developers and consumers will be forced to either 1) carry spare batteries or 2) accept a larger battery in their device or 3) hope that electronics developers are able to reduce power consumption in their new devices. These are not attractive options.
In this report, we examine 46 fuel cell companies in the micro and small fuel cell markets:
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Table of Contents
1.1 Micro Fuel Cells
1.2 Small Fuel Cells
2 Major Research Findings
2.1 Micro Fuel Cells
2.2 Small Fuel Cell
3 Global Market Opportunities and Forecasts
3.1 Micro Fuel Cells
3.2 Small Fuel Cells
4 Micro Fuel Cell Mobile Device Market
4.2 Telecom Devices Market
4.3 Other Mobile/Portable Devices Market
5 Ranking of Fuel Cell R&D Companies
5.1 Micro Fuel Cells Ranking
6 Fuel Cell Companies Status Summary
6.1 Fuel Cell R&D Companies by Application Type
7 R&D and Related Company Activities
7.2 Component Vendors
7.3 Test Measurement and Consulting Companies
8 Market Reality and Directions
8.2 Assessment of Different Fuel Cell Technologies
8.3 Future Direction
Appendix: Fuel Cell Primer FOR ORDER OR INQUIRY, PLEASE CLICK "ORDER / INQUIRY FORM" |