Research Consortium Awarded Fuel Cell Research Contract by US Army

Motorola Labs (Tempe, AZ) researchers have been notified that a Power and Energy Alliance Consortium that they have formed with Honeywell International Inc. (Phoenix, AZ), Engines and Systems, SAIC, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) and others has been awarded an eight-year, $49.0 million dollar cooperative agreement by the US Army Robert Morris Acquisition Center, RTP Division, on behalf of the US Army Research Laboratory. The program, called the Army Research Laboratory Collaborative Technology Alliances Program, is designed to stimulate scientific research.

Motorola Labs claims to be at the forefront of the research on miniature fuel cells that are being targeted as on-board battery chargers and may one day replace the traditional batteries for portable electronics, from cellular phones to laptop computers. Motorola Labs researchers have demonstrated a ceramics-based microfluidics structure that provides fuel processing and delivery as well as air supply to the fuel cell.

"Fuel cell research is becoming a very hot research area encompassing a wide range of technologies and applications," said Jerry Hallmark, manager of Motorola Labs' Energy Technology Lab. "This commitment of resources by the Army will help make alternative energy technologies a reality. We are delighted to have won this award and are excited about co-leading such a high-caliber team."