We know for a long time that micro fuel cells are a brilliant alternative to batteries. But, producing them from hundreds of tiny separate parts is not only complex, but expensive too. Here is a new alternative cost-effective solution to this — ceramic fuel cells. These can be manufactured in one piece.
The new approach produces fuel cells from a new type of ceramic film — called Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic. Though the material has been in use in the chip industry for some time — as a substrate for microelectronic components — the Fraunhofer researchers have successfully integrated additional ‘non-electronic functional elements’ into the ceramics.
