Auto News

[heavyD]

http://www.google.lk/search?q="The+ne...small+car" LOL

Ah! The plot thickens...

[Pericles]

I might be reading this the wrong way but,

Drivers enjoy a six-way power seat, leather seating surfaces, steering wheel and shift knob

Errr... A steering wheel and a shift knob? Am I missing something here? It doesn't sound like a steering mounted shifter or anything. What the heck does this mean?

http://www.leftlanenews.com/chevrolet-cruze.html#

[heavyD]

I might be reading this the wrong way but,

Errr... A steering wheel and a shift knob? Am I missing something here? It doesn't sound like a steering mounted shifter or anything. What the heck does this mean?

http://www.leftlanenews.com/chevrolet-cruze.html#

Lol... wonder if the four tyres come standard as well.. or is that an optional extra?

[Sylvi]

Lol... wonder if the four tyres come standard as well.. or is that an optional extra?

Sir,

It depends on manufacturers classifications.

Wijesinghe.

[DarkangeL]

Sir,

It depends on manufacturers classifications.

Wijesinghe.

[harshansenadhir]

I might be reading this the wrong way but,

Errr... A steering wheel and a shift knob? Am I missing something here? It doesn't sound like a steering mounted shifter or anything. What the heck does this mean?

http://www.leftlanenews.com/chevrolet-cruze.html#

boasting about leather seats, leather covered steering and shift knob.

[harshansenadhir]

Sir,

It depends on manufacturers classifications.

Wijesinghe.

ah, so there are manufacturers who offer 4 tires as extra. Impressive.

[Pericles]

boasting about leather seats, leather covered steering and shift knob.

Ohhhh....

[heavyD]

Sir,

It depends on manufacturers classifications.

Wijesinghe.

Ahahahaha... that is so funny!

[Sylvi]

Received by Email

Car production speeds up UK manufacturing recovery

20 January 2011

According to the latest research from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), UK vehicle production is leading a recovery in the manufacturing sector with output in 2010 up 27.8 per cent.

’UK manufacturers exported more than a million vehicles last year underlining the competitiveness and desirability of the current model line-up,’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive.

Car production rose 27 per cent over the year and 10.6 per cent in December, while commercial vehicles enjoyed a steeper recovery, rising 35.7 per cent over the year and 19.4 per cent in the month.

click here

Engine production in 2010 also grew robustly - 2.39 million units were manufactured. UK engine manufacturers produced 2,386,717 engines in 2010, up 16.2 per cent on 2009.

In addition, 72.1 per cent of all engines produced in the UK were sent abroad, bolstering export-led manufacturing growth. Petrol engines accounted for 58.3 per cent of the total produced, and the share of those that were exported rose to 41.7 per cent.

The news from Europe was a little less optimistic, with the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association reporting that during 2010 the EU market for new passenger cars declined by 5.5 per cent, with just 13,360,599 new units registered throughout the year. The 2010 results were marked by the ending of government fleet-renewal schemes in many EU countries.

In December 2010, the association said that demand for new cars declined by 23.9 per cent in Spain, by 21.7 in Italy and by 18 per cent in the UK. The French market remained stable with a decline of just 0.7 per cent while the German market expanded by 6.9 per cent.

Sylvi Wojesinghe.

[Sylvi]

Members,

I was traveling on high level road towards to Maharagama I found Kleen park had closed up on the way back made some inquiries. The information I received that Toyota Lanka is going to set up a service center there.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[jaga]

Stafford motors is going to open up a servive/repair centre for HYBRID vechicles at Raththanapitiya as well.Normal Hondas also could be serviced.

[CyRaX]

Members,

I was traveling on high level road towards to Maharagama I found Kleen park had closed up on the way back made some inquiries. The information I received that Toyota Lanka is going to set up a service center there.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

You mean the one in nawinna right?

[Sylvi]

You mean the one in nawinna right?

'CyRaX',

Yes already Kleen Park Nawinna deal is finalized and the m/s, Toyota lanka will be there in next few days according to the management.At the moment only few cars are there for periodical service.Accident repair work shop is completely closed.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[Sylvi]

Thursday, 22 September 2011

UK's first hydrogen refueling station unveiled at Honda plant

20 September 2011 | By Stephen Harris

The UK’s first public hydrogen-vehicle refueling station opened today at Honda’s manufacturing plant in Swindon.

The facility is designed to look and work like a conventional petrol station and provide similar refuelling times, delivering hydrogen from pre-filled cylinders so that vehicles can fill up one after the other.

Built and run by industrial gases company BOC (part of The Linde Group) with backing from Honda and Forward Swindon, the station is intended to offer a strategic link halfway along the M4 between London and Swansea.

The partners also hope to address the belief held by many in the industry that consumers won’t buy hydrogen vehicles without an established refueling network but fuel companies won’t build new facilities while there are no hydrogen cars are on the road.

Commenting on the new refueling station, BOC UK managing director Mike Huggon said: ‘It demonstrates that we can build the infrastructure needed to establish a hydrogen-powered transport system.

‘But even with private and public support — as we have here in Swindon — we need government commitment to make this work across the country as a whole.

‘We can provide the tools but the government has to create the policy framework in which we can build the low-carbon infrastructure of tomorrow.’

Most major car manufacturers are developing hydrogen-vehicle technology, which is favored for its lack of tailpipe emissions and longer range than that of existing battery-electric vehicles.

However, most industrial hydrogen is currently produced through the steam reformation of fossil fuels, which releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

‘We are looking to more renewable technologies in the long term because that’s what customers want,’ BOC spokesman Simon Napper told The Engineer.

‘The issue at the moment is getting renewable production facilities up to commercial scale. There are only a few plants around the world that deliver at commercial quantities.

‘Linde has opened a commercial-scale plant in Leuna, Germany, based on electrolysis and one in Canada that works on hydro-electric power.’

I got this information from the web.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[Sylvi]

Project develops electric car battery with increased power

26 September 2011 |

By Sam Shead

A new battery for electric cars, with a 35 per cent greater range compared to batteries of the same weight, has been created through research led by Axeon.

The battery uses Nickel Cobalt Manganese (NCM) electrochemistry, which theoretically requires 50 per cent less volume and 30 per cent less mass when compared to Lithium Iron Phosphate (LIP) chemistry at cell level.

‘NCM batteries have a higher energy density which means they can produce more power than LIP batteries of the same size,’ Allan Paterson, a senior electrochemist at Axeon told.A key goal of the project was to confirm that cell level benefits pass through to the battery pack level when taking into account the overall packaging, cell retention, cooling and interconnects, Battery Management System components and overall system functionality.The developers claim their tests revealed that the majority of cell level benefits migrated to battery pack level. A demonstrator of the battery system has now been deployed into an Allied Vehicles test vehicle, with the results of improved range and performance. The new battery incorporates NCM ‘pouch’ cells packaged in modular building blocks. Axeon believes that this modular design will allow them to support rapid prototyping into a range of vehicles with reduced development time.

Additional benefits of the new system include increased ground clearance, a better driving experience due to improved weight distribution; and more power giving better drivability.

Axeon and its partners, Ricardo and Allied Vehicles, now believe that it is feasible to replace LIP batteries in electric vehicles with NCM batteries.

In a statement Lawrence Berns, CEO of Axeon said: ‘This new battery represents a real step forward in the development of electric vehicles and is highly versatile, being suitable for applications for many vehicle manufacturers and across a wide range of platforms.’

Funding for the project came in at over £1.3m after the Technology Strategy Board invested £680,000 to the Axeon-led consortium.

Project partners are now discussing the next steps for the new breakthrough.

From the web.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[Sylvi]

Computers and sensors aid car in autonomous Berlin drive

21 September 2011

Computers have helped a VW Passat drive 80km around the streets of Berlin with complete autonomy.

Designed by researchers from Freie Universität Berlin, the autonomous car — dubbed MadeInGermany — successfully navigated the busy streets of Berlin using onboard computers.

It is claimed the safety driver behind the steering wheel only monitored the car’s behaviour as it successfully drove the 20km route between the International Congress Center and Brandenburg Gate four times.

The vehicle is a conventional VW Passat that has been modified for ‘drive by wire’ by AutoNOMOs Labs, a university project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Electronic commands are passed on directly from the computer to the accelerator, the brakes and the steering wheel.

The developers said a series of sensors integrated into the car’s chassis provide information on all the cars or people on the street, which enable the car to avoid obstacles, adjust its speed or change lanes when necessary.

The car uses a GPS system and a map of the city to determine its position. It has three lasers at the front and three at the rear to detect any vehicle or pedestrian 360° around the car. The measurements are done by emitting laser pulses and the distance is determined based on the laser’s flight time.

A rotating laser scanner on top of the vehicle provides additional information — up to one million scan points per second of the 3D structure of the environment.

The car manages to centre itself in the middle of a lane using a black-and-white video camera behind the rear-view mirror, which detects the white lane strips.

Similarly, it successfully navigated 46 sets of traffic lights on its journey using two colour cameras that identify traffic lights and their state.

MadeInGermany will continue driving the streets of Berlin in coming months and the researchers at AutoNOMOs have a new goal of fully autonomous driving between European cities.

From the web.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[Sylvi]

Members I got this from the web.

Wireless bicycle brakes could be used in larger vehicles

14th October

Scientists in Germany have developed a wireless bicycle brake that could lead to similar systems for larger vehicles such as trains and aero planes.

The system developed at Saarland University was found to be 99.999999999997 per cent reliable after testing using mathematical calculations that are also used in control systems for aircraft or chemical factories.

‘Wireless networks are never a fail-safe method. That’s a fact that’s based on a technological background,’ said Prof Holger Hermanns, chair of Dependable Systems and Software, who led the team that developed the brake.

‘[The reliability rate] implies that out of a trillion braking attempts, we have three failures. That is not perfect, but acceptable.’

The brake was fitted to a cruiser bike in order to test the principle as using it on larger vehicles was too risky. ‘The wireless bicycle brake gives us the necessary playground to optimize these methods for operation in much more complex systems,’ said Hermanns.

‘In the field of the future European Train Service, for example, concrete plans already exist.’

The brake responds to pressure sensors in the rubber grip on the right handle of the bike that transmit radio signals to the brake mechanism. The tighter the cyclist grips the handle over a certain threshold, the harder the disk brake on the front wheel works.

A wireless receiver forwards the signals to an actuator, transforming the radio signal into the mechanical power that activates the disk brake.

The current design enables the cruiser bike to brake within 250 milliseconds, meaning a cyclist travelling at 30kph has a 2m stopping distance.

Hermanns is now looking for engineers to improve the device further. ’It is not difficult to integrate an anti-lock braking system and traction control. That takes only a few adjustments,’ he said.

The German Research Foundation funded the project through the Automatic Verification and Analysis of Complex Systems (AVACS) programmer.

[Sylvi]

Members I got this from the web.

Researchers develop fluoride-based rechargeable batteries

24 October 2011

Researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) believe they have developed a new concept

for rechargeable batteries.

Based on a fluoride shuttle — the transfer of fluoride anions between the electrodes — the battery

technology is reported to enhance the storage capacity reached by lithium-ion batteries by several

factors. It is claimed that operational safety is also increased, as it can be done without lithium.

Metal fluorides may be applied as conversion materials in lithium-ion batteries. They also allow for

lithium-free batteries with a fluoride-containing electrolyte, a metal anode, and metal fluoride

cathode, which reach a much better storage capacity and possess improved safety properties.

The concept for secondary batteries based on metal fluorides was developed by Dr Maximilian

Fichtner, head of the Energy Storage Systems Group, and Dr Munnangi Anji Reddy at the KIT

Institute of Nanotechnology (INT). It was published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry.

’As several electrons per metal atom can be transferred, this concept allows extraordinarily high

energy densities to be achieved — up to 10 times as high as those of conventional lithium-ion

batteries,’ explained Fichtner.

Instead of the lithium cation, the fluoride anion takes over charge transfer. At the cathode and

anode, a metal fluoride is formed or reduced.

Lithium-ion batteries are applied widely, but their storage capacity is limited. In the future, battery

systems of enhanced energy density will be needed for mobile applications in particular.

The KIT researchers are now working on the further development of material design and battery

architecture in order to improve the initial capacity and cyclic stability of the fluoride-ion battery.

Another challenge lies in the further development of the electrolyte. The solid electrolyte applied so

far is suitable for applications at elevated temperatures only. It is therefore aimed at finding a liquid

electrolyte that is suited to use at room temperature.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[Sylvi]

From the web

H\boost program promises engine efficiency

31 October 2011 | By Stephen Harris

Small torque: A downsized engine that packs a big punch could improve vehicle efficiency without

comprising performance.

One of the biggest complaints about hybrid and electric cars, whether the problem is real or

imagined, is that they don¶t perform as well as traditional petrol vehicles, don¶t feel the same to drive

or don¶t respond quickly enough when you put your foot down. Now a £3m project part-funded by

the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) is aiming to change that by developing technologies to make a

small but fuel-efficient engine feel like a much bigger one.

The main result of the Hyboost programme, led by UK-based engineering consultancy Ricardo, was

unveiled last month: a 2009 Ford Focus kitted out with an engine half the size of the original, which

Ricardo claims offers a 42 per cent improvement in fuel consumption without any loss in performance.

How did they do it? Essentially by combining a turbocharged engine with an electric hybrid

regeneration and supercharging system, in addition to a great deal of collaborative British

engineering.

The first step was aggressively downsizing the engine, replacing the original two-litre four-cylinder

model with Ford¶s one-litre three-cylinder Ecoboost and, in doing so, reducing fuel consumption by

around 25 per cent. ¶We do actually get slightly more than that,¶ said Jason King, chief engineer for

gasoline engines at Ricardo UK and head of the Hyboost project. ¶We get closer to 30 per cent

because the engine friction is a little bit lower as we go from a four cylinder to a three cylinder, so

you get another small benefit that way.¶

“We use the electric boosting device to give it a similar feel to a much bigger engine”

JASON KING, RICARDO UK

Using a taller gear ratio (where the difference in size between the input and output gears is smaller)

more typical of diesel models gave another five per cent fuel-consumption improvement. But this was

only possible thanks to the much higher torque of Ford¶s one-litre engine, provided by a turbocharger

an exhaust gas turbine that increased the amount of air entering the engine and the use of gasoline

direct injection (GDI) which meant the air was cooler before ignition both of which improved the

machine¶s performance.

¶With the taller gear ratios, if we didn¶t change torque curve it would actually give a slowerresponding vehicle as if you were driving in a higher gear,¶ said King. ¶But because we can make more

torque we can have the same performance but with a big improvement in fuel consumption.¶

The problem with using such a small engine in a relatively large car is that it leads to an increase in

turbo lag the time the engine needs to change speed when you put your foot down. To counter this,

the Hyboost team used a VTES electric air compressor or supercharger developed by Controlled

Power Technologies to give the engine an extra boost for the few seconds it was needed while the

turbocharger was kicking in.

¶We use the electric boosting device to give it a similar feel to a much bigger engine,¶ said King. ¶Even

though it¶s a one litre engine it makes very good torque and power, but to make it feel like a bigger

car you need that instant response and that¶s what the electric supercharger does.¶

The power for the supercharger comes from a regenerative braking system, the technology used by11/4/11 Hyboost programme promises engine efficiency | In-depth | The Engineer

theengineer.co.uk/in-depth/analysis/«/1010742.article 2/3

most hybrid cars to generate electricity by feeding the vehicle’s kinetic energy into a generator. This

electricity is then stored in ultracapacitors, which can be discharged and recharged much faster than

most batteries and are much cheaper, before being delivered to the supercharger as needed.

This microhybrid system, a StARS 12+X model developed by Valeo, also performs another important

function. Mounted on the belt on the front of the engine, it replaces the alternator and starter motor

with an integrated starter generator, meaning that at lower speeds it feeds the electricity back into

the engine, adding another seven to nine per cent improvement in fuel consumption.

’Really it’s a way of getting the lowest CO2 figure by using this electric machine primarily to absorb

power when you lift your foot off and put power in when you put your foot down,’ said King.

“You don’t need to use batteries that require lots of power to be produced and which

cost a fortune”

The big engineering challenge for Ricardo was in combining all these systems together, he said.

’Sitting on top of [the engine and electrical architecture] is a controlling strategy that schedules

when the microhybrid functionality should work, combined with the electric supercharger, and

combined with the boosting system that’s on the engine anyway, the fixed-geometry turbocharger.’

Although the project is due to end in December, part of the TSB funding agreement was that the

partners would put together a five-year plan of how to promote these technologies, which are all

nearly production-ready. ’Bringing all this technology together gives us a low-cost alternative to a

hybrid with the same kind of fuel consumption but superior drivability and performance at a much

lower cost,’ said King. ’And you don’t need to use batteries that are bad for the environment, require

lots of power to be produced and that cost an absolute fortune.’

As an extra part of the programme, the European Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium (EALABC)

is developing a low-cost lead acid battery suitable for hybrids that has a lower cost than

ultracapacitors but a superior performance. As a lead acid battery it can store lots of energy, but it

also has the fast discharge rates of ultracapacitors and the robustness of nickel metal hydride

batteries, without the high environmental costs associated with nickel or lithium mining. This could be

applied to the Hyboost system to reduce its costs and allow even more energy to be regenerated

and stored by the electric architecture.

Ford has yet to decide whether to put any or all of the technology into its cars the Hyboost vehicle

that has been produced is just a demonstrator. But there’s a good reason why they and other

companies would be interested in doing so. Next year, the EU is scheduled to bring in penalties for

car manufacturers depending on how much CO2 they produce. By 2015, this means companies such

as Ford will have to pay ¼95 (£83) on each car for every gram per kilometre of CO2 they emit above

an average of 130g/km, measured on the European Drive Cycle.

Given that the Hyboost technology has an estimated cost to manufacturers of ¼500 per vehicle and

can cut the 2009 Focus’s CO2 output from 169g/km to 99g/km, it wouldn’t be surprising to see

companies investing in the system, or others like it, rather than paying hundreds of euros in fines.

’This technology is relatively low cost and actually brings the CO2 down quite a lot, so the cost the

manufacturer will save by not having to pay the penalty is considerably more than the oncost of the

technology,’ added King.

Hyboost isn’t just for mid-size cars such as the Focus, he added. ’It’s a technology that is scalable.

It’s actually beneficial going into bigger passenger cars because it’s a good enabler for engine

downsizing, which means you can fit smaller engines in bigger cars and have no perceived reduction

in drivability. We have looked at it in cars as big as a Range Rover you put a much smaller engine in

there and still have the same kind of driving feel.’

inside stor\

turbo charged

The Hyboost vehicle combines several innovative technologiesFord one-litre three-cylinder

Ecoboost engine with turbocharger and gasoline direct injection, 143 horsepower, 240NM

torque, 99g CO2/km

Controlled Power Technologies VTES (Variable Torque Enhancement System) fully integrated

electric supercharger

Valeo StARS (Starter-Alternator Reversible System) 12+X microhybrid system with start-stop11/4/11 Hyboost programme promises engine efficiency | In-depth | The Engineer

theengineer.co.uk/in-depth/analysis/«/1010742.article 3/3

capability, regenerating 6kW at 12+V, including 200 farad ultracapacitors

ReadeUV' commenWV (3)

chris | 3 Nov 2011 1:59 pm

Is that 99g CO2/km urban, extra urban or combined?

I wonder how much cost penalty all the additional control gizmos ad?

Editor's comments | 3 Nov 2011 1:59 pm

Fuel consumption figures are for the European Drive Cycle.

The team hopes the cost to the manufacturer will be around ¼500 (£430). This compares to

around ¼2,500 (£2150) for a battery pack for a leading hybrid car.

Bill | 3 Nov 2011 3:22 pm

A nice piece of engineering. It should succeed even without the carbon bludgeon.

Gwyn Pritchard-Williams | 3 Nov 2011 3:28 pm

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[Sylvi]

MEMBERS I RECEIVED THIS BY EMAIL.

Ford reintroduces the 1965 Mustang

If all you wanna do is ride around, the classic convertible can be yours for $15,000.

By Justin Hyde | Yahoo! Autos – Fri, Oct 28, 2011 1:37 PM EDT

Ford Motor Co. will soon sell brand-new 1965 Ford Mustangsfor just $15,000 each. The only hitch: There's some assembly required.

As part of its Ford Reproduction business, Ford revealed today it had approved a new stamping of the steel bodies for first-generation Mustang that buyers could then build into their own 1964 1/2 through 1966 Mustang, using whatever engine, axles, interior and other parts they can find on their own.

The first-generation Mustangs rank as America's most-restored vehicle, and the cottage industry of reproduction parts has grown to where it's possible to build a Mustang just as it would have appeared on the showroom floor in the mid-1960s, down to the pushbutton AM/FM radio.

Ford says the new body shell built by California-based Dynacorn has been improved only slightly with modern welding techniques and rustproofing, and comes out of the crate nearly ready for paint and assembly. The company already offers metal bodies for Mustangs from 1967 through 1970, and has been in talks with Ford to remake the original body of the Ford Bronco. There's still life in those old horses yet.

hitch: There's some assembly required.

As part of its Ford Reproduction business, Ford revealed today it had approved a new stamping of the steel bodies for first-generation Mustang that buyers could then build into their own 1964 1/2 through 1966 Mustang, using whatever engine, axles, interior and other parts they can find on their own.

The first-generation Mustangs rank as America's most-restored vehicle, and the cottage industry of reproduction parts has grown to where it's possible to build a Mustang just as it would have appeared on the showroom floor in the mid-1960s, down to the pushbutton AM/FM radio.

Ford says the new body shell built by California-based Dynacorn has been improved only slightly with modern welding techniques and rustproofing, and comes out of the crate nearly ready for paint and assembly. The company already offers metal bodies for Mustangs from 1967 through 1970, and has been in talks with Ford to remake the original body of the Ford Bronco. There's still life in those old horses yet.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[thusithasam]

Good Information. Thank you Sylvi Wijesinghe

[Sylvi]

Members,

I found this article at autospeed.com and thought you might be interested in reading it:

'The Magnificent Karmann Ghia' - One of the prettiest of classic coupes

The Volkswagen Karmann Ghia is one of the most elegant coupes in the world. Here's the story of this much-loved machine...

You can read the article at:

http://www.autospeed.com/A_112277/cms/article.html

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[MrCat]

Members,

I found this article at autospeed.com and thought you might be interested in reading it:

'The Magnificent Karmann Ghia' - One of the prettiest of classic coupes

The Volkswagen Karmann Ghia is one of the most elegant coupes in the world. Here's the story of this much-loved machine...

You can read the article at:

http://www.autospeed...ms/article.html

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

My favorite classic. different body on a VW bettle chassis. Haven`t come across this particular article before. Read to go with today`s lunch. Thanks Sylvi.

[Sylvi]

Members,

From the web, Fuel Cell.

Researchers have built a completely autonomous lab-on-a-chip device, which has an integrated micro fuel cell.Methanol fuel is used to power the electronics while carbon dioxide (CO₂), produced as reaction by-product, pumps the liquid analytes around the channels. Microfluidic technologies have been touted for some time, and while small devices have been demonstrated they typically rely on large and expensive external equipment such as compressors and various electronic components.

This essentially renders them unsuitable for applications such as point-of-care diagnostics and field work in developing nations. Around six years ago, a team of Spanish researchers from the National Centre for Microelectronics (CNM) in Barcelona came across the lab-on-a-chip problem. ‘We attended two or three microTAS [Micro Total Analysis Systems] conferences and saw that there were many platforms and a lot of technologies but not many commercial products,’ Dr Neus Sabaté of the CNM told‘The two main reasons seemed to be the lack of autonomy of these devices and the lack of consensus of which was the best technology to put everything together.’ At this stage, the researchers began investigating micro fuel cells, at a time when there was talk of them being used in laptops and mobile phones. ‘It’s clear now that micro fuel cell research has lost the battle against batteries because lithium-ion batteries are getting better and better. But we think we’ve found a niche for micro fuel cells with lab-on-a-chip devices,’ Sabaté said. In the current prototype device, the micro fuel cell is composed of two silicon current collectors and a commercial membrane electrode assembly (MEA). The collectors are fabricated with deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) to allow the reactants to distribute by diffusion.

When the micro fuel cell starts to deliver electrical power to a certain load, CO₂ gas is created at the anode side as a result of the oxidation of methanol molecules. The accumulation of CO₂ in the inlet chamber causes a pressure increase that forces the liquid in the sample chamber to displace towards the analysis chamber. ‘We’re taking advantage of these by-products, which are generally a nuisance for these kind of devices, and turning it into mechanical power,’ Sabaté said.The researchers hope to further develop their current prototype device, but Sabaté believes there may be even greater potential for micro fuel cells that can take sugar water and even variants powered by the very same fluids they are analyzing. In addition, they are working on a device where the entire platform — both the fuel cell and the chip — are made from the same biodegradable polymer, making a much more flexible, robust device.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.