Nov 15 2006
VIASPACE Inc and the US Department of Defense, announced today that its subsidiary, Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Corporation (DMFCC), has signed a cartridge design and certified manufacturer agreement with Nypro Inc., a manufacturer and assembler of plastic based products operating 55 businesses in 18 countries around the globe. Nypro's customers are the world's largest companies who use plastics in their products including cell phone and laptop computer OEMs.
"Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Corporation is establishing a global network of partners to manufacture and distribute fuel cartridges", reports Dr. Carl Kukkonen, CEO of both VIASPACE and DMFCC. "I welcome Nypro as a partner and look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship. Our strategic goal is to have manufacturing partners that are already trusted suppliers to the OEMs. Nypro is a perfect example".
According to Lou Gaviglia, Nypro's corporate vice president for Consumer and Electronics, "Nypro is intrigued by the opportunities associated with alternate forms of power for portable electronic devices. We view this as a potentially dynamic growth market that fits our core, plastic based service offering. VIASPACE/DMFCC is a leader in the intellectual property relative to this market place and we are excited to collaborate with them toward the successful introduction and mass commercialization of products in this area."
DMFCC focuses on producing methanol fuel cartridges that will provide the energy source for laptop computers, cell phones and other portable electronic devices to be powered by direct methanol fuel cells.
Fuel cells are expected to gain a substantial market share because they offer longer operating time as compared to current lithium ion batteries and may be instantaneously recharged by simply replacing the disposable fuel cartridge. It has been announced that direct methanol fuel cells are being developed for portable electronic applications by companies such as Samsung and LG in Korea, and by Toshiba, NEC, Hitachi and Sanyo in Japan.
http://www.viaspace.com/