MTI MicroFuel Cells Announces Strategic Alliance With Samsung Electronics
Thursday May 18, 5:54 am ET
MTI Micro/Samsung Electronics Alliance Marks Solid Progress for the Future of Fuel Cell Powered Portable Consumer Electronics
ALBANY, N.Y., May 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc. (MTI Micro), developer of the award-winning Mobion® micro fuel cell technology for handheld electronic devices and a subsidiary of Mechanical Technology Incorporated (MTI) (Nasdaq: MKTY - News), today announced an exclusive alliance with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., ("Samsung", a technology innovator in the telecommunications industry, to develop next-generation fuel cell prototypes for Samsung's mobile phone business. Mobion®, MTI Micro's patented direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) technology, has been chosen to power a series of prototypes designed for Samsung's mobile phone and mobile phone accessories.
Frost & Sullivan, an industry research firm, estimates that Samsung is the third largest handset manufacturer in terms of units shipped in the market for mobile handsets worldwide. Further, Frost & Sullivan forecasts the market for micro fuel cells for consumer electronic devices to reach approximately 80 million units by 2012.
"MTI Micro's alliance with Samsung is a significant step towards direct methanol fuel cell commercialization. As today's consumer electronic devices are becoming increasingly power hungry and multi-functional, conventional rechargeable batteries are challenged to provide the required runtime consumers demand. Micro fuel cells are expected to provide the solution to this challenge," said Sara Bradford, Research Director, Power Systems Group, for Frost & Sullivan.
Due to its anticipated longer runtime and instant recharging advantages (compared with batteries in today's mobile phones), Mobion® is being designed as the advanced power solution which will allow future consumers to enjoy media-rich, power hungry mobile applications. Samsung and MTI Micro are teaming together to leverage Mobion®'s intrinsic technological advantages to enable new features for future mobile phones that, until now, have been constrained by traditional battery power sources.
Together, the two companies will develop, test, and evaluate Mobion® technology for various mobile phone applications. Samsung will put its resources into this joint effort which will help determine the best approach for powering the next-generation of feature-rich devices in the consumer electronics industry. Upon successful completion of this agreement, MTI Micro and Samsung intend to continue to work together by entering into a product commercialization agreement.
"By allying with MTI Micro, Samsung is empowered to go beyond the established boundaries of what is currently possible with mobile phone design and functionality. Samsung continuously pushes forward to overcome one of the most challenging issues of the mobile industry and continue to lead the market with this leading edge technology," said YoungWoo Lee, Vice President at Samsung Electronics.
MTI Micro's strategy is to provide a DMFC power source to a wide range of portable consumer electronic devices, from digital cameras to mobile phones to handheld entertainment devices. MTI Micro has focused on developing key partnerships in all aspects of its business including materials, manufacturing, and distribution. Today's agreement with Samsung is preceded by an impressive list of alliances MTI Micro has established to create a world-class supply chain. With these relationships in place, MTI Micro is poised to advance Mobion® as the key power source in the consumer electronics marketplace.
"Samsung is one of the largest and most innovative mobile phone suppliers in the world and I am pleased that MTI Micro has this exclusive opportunity to team with them and explore advanced power solutions for their future mobile phone products," said Peng Lim, President and CEO of MTI Micro. "Our goal is to make Mobion® a standard power source used for powering all types of mobile products, and under this agreement, our work with Samsung on mobile phones and accessory applications will be a major step in achieving that goal."