Who makes portable power units?

Japanese and Korean companies are the most involved in portable power units for electronic devices, and have recently launched a series of products that are mainly based on direct methanol-fuelled PEFC; large-scale commercialization of these devices is planned in the coming years.

Can a supercapacitor be used as a rechargeable power source?

For moderate energy demands in portable electronics, supercapacitors are suitable as rechargeable stand-alone power sources. In conjunction with rechargeable batteries in uninterruptible power supplies, supercapacitors can handle short interruptions and can extend battery life.

What are the advantages of PEFC-based power systems?

For military applications, another advantage of PEFC-based power systems is that they could be easily masked against thermal sensors, while other generation systems operate at higher temperatures and emit much waste heat. Here, cost is not a problem; fuel storage and supply logistics are the main limiting factors.

What is a portable FC?

We take into account the second definition to distinguish vehicles for transportation from other vehicles. To power this range of products, portable FCs are being developed in a wide range of outputs, ranging from less than 5 W up to 500 kW.

Can methanol fuel cells be used as a power supply?

Mainly fuel cells operating on methanol are currently tested for the purpose of man- portable power supply by the different armies. The French and US armies, however, are also considering hydrogen-fed proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) systems.

What is a portable charge system (FC)?

Two broad definitions of portable FCs exist in the literature. The first definition includes FCs that are built into – or charge – products that are designed to be moved, excluding vehicles.