Other car manufacturers, including General Motors and Ford, are actively engaged in similar developments. It now appears, however, that there is a strong possibility of using the SPFC in very small scale localised power generation, where the heat could be used for hot water or space heating. If it does prove possible to use this particular type of fuel cell for both transport and power generation, then the advantages generated by economies of scale and synergy between the two markets could make the introduction of the technology easier than in other cases. This type of fuel cell is based on solid polymer technology but uses methanol directly as a fuel. If it can be made to work, that would be a big step forward in the automotive area where the storage or generation of hydrogen is one of the big obstacles for the introduction of fuel cells.
Prototypes exist, but the development is at an early stage.
There are principal problems, including the lower electrochemical activity of the methanol as compared to hydrogen, giving rise to lower cell voltages and, hence, efficiencies. Also, methanol is miscible in water, so some of it is liable to cross the water-saturated membrane and cause corrosion and exhaust gas problems on the cathode side. Nevertheless, the direct methanol fuel cell is an interesting proposition and a number of places are working on it, including Siemens in Germany, the University of Newcastle and Argonne National Laboratory. The idea is still young but intriguing. Imperial College in London is active in this area.