Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

A direct methanol fuel cell, or DMFC, is a type of proton exchange membrane fuel cell that burns methanol directly as its fuel rather than hydrogen, using the same proton conducting polymer membrane, and it is valued for the low temperature at which it operates and for the ease of transporting methanol, an energy dense liquid that stays reasonably stable across ordinary environmental conditions. The theoretical thermodynamic energy conversion efficiency of a DMFC is 97 percent, but real operating cells fall far short of that figure, reaching only 30 to 40 percent efficiency as of 2014, and researchers continue actively working to close that gap. A more efficient direct methanol fuel cell is seen as a key enabling technology for the hypothesized methanol economy, in which methanol itself would serve as a general purpose medium for transporting and storing energy.