August 26th 2002
Japan METI to Subsidize Small Fuel Cell Development
Source:Jiji Press
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will subsidize projects to develop fuel cells
small enough to use in mobile phones and notebook computers, starting from the next fiscal
year, ministry sources said Monday.
The ministry will request several hundred million yen for the subsidy program
in the budget for
the year from next April, in a bid to prompt makers to speed up development,
the sources told
Jiji Press.
Fuel cells, which generate electricity by the chemical reaction between
hydrogen and oxygen,
can supply energy for up to 10 times longer than the lithium-ion batteries,
which are widely
used in portable electronic appliances at present.
Fuel cells will be put into practical use for automobiles soon, while consumer
electronics
makers hope to realize the commercial use of fuel cells for small items
in 2004-2005.
Small fuel cells are viewed as a prospective energy source for the growing
variety of
battery-powered electronics products, such as mobile phones, notebook computers
and
personal digital assistants, whose power consumption is becoming greater
due to added
functions.
The likeliest way of supplying hydrogen for small fuel cells is
by extracting it from methanol sold in exchangeable cartridges, they said.
The ministry also intends to take the lead in establishing standards for
small fuel cells and
cartridges, so that they are compatible with any type of electronic product,
the sources said.
