MTI Micro Announces Mobion OEM Developers Program

MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc., developer of the Mobion® off-the-grid portable power solution, announced the launch of a Mobion Developers program for qualified Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM). The program will provide engineers and product designers at qualified OEMs with a Mobion Developers Kit including a Mobion direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) prototype and the tools and information for them to evaluate and quickly understand how to integrate and use the Mobion platform in their product development efforts.

Expanding on MTI Micro’s current collaboration agreements with major consumer and industrial OEMs across the US, Asia and Europe, the objective of this program is to spur innovation by allowing additional OEMs to better conceptualize, understand and create new products using the Mobion platform. The company claims that the program enables OEMs to shorten their time to market with a fuel cell powered product by accelerating the learning curve and cycle time associated with new technology. This also allows OEM design teams to engage in early collaborations with MTI Micro to further refine the core Mobion technology for specialized applications with the OEM.

Mobion is an energy generating device that uses DMFC technology. According to the company, unlike batteries, which just store energy generated from the power grid, Mobion is a grid-free power source that converts the energy of methanol, a bio-degradable and renewable fuel, into usable electricity. Designed to be used as a portable power alternative to batteries, the Mobion fuel cell offers long life operation, light weight, and never needs to be connected to the electric grid to be recharged.

"We are proud to have reached the stage where Mobion can accommodate the commercialization requirements of many OEMs within different industry segments," said Jim Frawley, Director of Business Development of MTI Micro. "Our platform has demonstrated a level of scalability which makes it adaptable to various applications. Additionally, our Mobion device uses 100% methanol as fuel, which ranks as one of the most energy efficient fuels and serves to maximize energy density in a small package."

The Mobion® Developers Kit will include a Mobion fuel cell system, a monitoring software package, an operation manual that provides step-by-step procedures, and design guideline material. Also included are compact removable methanol cartridges for use in the system providing convenient and easy refueling to run and test the energy efficiency of the product. The kit also provides valuable access to MTI Micro’s expert engineering support team to assist in the design and testing of this grid-free power solution. With this kit, OEMs can explore the advantages of having green and grid-free power with extended run-time. Through the provided software package, OEMs can monitor and track the fuel cell performance and how the fuel cell operates.

"Battery chemistries have already reached a peak in technology development, and can not keep up with the speed at which portable electronics innovate and integrate new power hungry features. We strongly believe that the widening power gap will be best addressed through the capabilities uniquely offered by micro fuel cell technology, which is now seeing commercialization in its initial stages," Jim Frawley added.