A commercial ready fuel cell charger has been further developed, demonstrated, and field tested during the three phases of this project. The work performed and demonstrated has shown the commercialization readiness of this future product and underlying technology. The tasks in phase 2 focused on tool fabrication and tooled component prove-out in working systems. The end of Phase 2 was the accomplishment of building working systems made almost completely of tooled components. The tasks in phase

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... of the project were preparing for and executing a 75 unit field test of the DMFC charger product developed in Phase 1 and phase 2. This field test demonstrated the functionality of the DMFC in the hands of real users while also providing feedback for potential design improvements. This was the first time a significant number of MTI units were put into the field to test usability and functionality. Feedback from the field test was positive and the units functioned well in the field. Overall Goal: To demonstrate and field test a commercially viable one watt Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) charger for consumer electronic devices • Design for low cost, high volume manufacturing processes and ease of assembly. • Demonstrate performance across temperature and humidity range of consumer electronic devices. • Deploy 75 units into the field to obtain real world usage feedback. A major focus of this project was to reduce the cost of MTI's Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) powered charger to attain a competitively priced product when in production. To achieve a low cost system many of the components had to be redesigned so that they could be produced using low cost, high volume, manufacturing processes. The system also had to be redesigned for ease of assembly to increase build yield and reduce the amount of labor content needed. In addition, the assembly process had to be simplified so that technicians and assemblers could perform the assembly rather than engineers and scientists. During phase 1 of this program many parts and process steps were completely eliminated or were significantly simplified. In one instance a complete subassembly, with all associated cost and reliability issues, was eliminated. Phase 1 of the program was completed during the fall of 2009 and there was a successful Go/No-go review meeting that occurred on November 5, 2009 at MTI's facility in Albany, NY. At the completion of phase 1 almost all components were redesigned for reduced cost and high volume manufacturing. The following are examples of