Medis Technologies Ltd. (New York, NY) announced that its subsidiary, More Energy Ltd., has achieved an important breakthrough in developing a catalyst for use on the cathode in its direct liquid ethanol/methanol (DLE/M) fuel cell, which no longer requires platinum or other precious metals as a component, reducing the cost of the fuel cell.
“We are pleased with this valuable step forward in the development of a commercially viable fuel cell,” said Robert Lifton, chairman and CEO of Medis Technologies. “Platinum is already a very expensive metal, costing over $500 an ounce, and if large fuel cells for cars or power generation reach the market, they can be expected to sharply increase the demand and hence further increase the price of platinum. We expect that eliminating the use of platinum as a component of the catalyst for the cathode would reduce the cost of making our fuel cell when it comes to market by an estimated 20 percent. More Energy’s scientists are focusing on the elimination of platinum from the catalyst for the anode, as well. Our aim is to lower the cost of our fuel cells to a level that makes our product very attractive both in price and performance compared with rechargeable batteries presently used in portable electronic devices.”
