Portable Power

Batteries and fuel cells are an essential part of modern portable electronic systems and a future solution to automotive and marine propulsion. QinetiQ is at the forefront of battery and fuel cell development and now your organisation can take advantage of our products, expertise and facilities.

Our Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) technology is a hybrid fuel cell and battery system that promises a significant performance enhancement over standard battery packs for the same weight and size.

We research the full spectrum of battery chemistries and offer viable solutions for many demanding applications. We are currently developing advanced lithium rechargeable and primary batteries and have developed a plastic packaged cell, based on lithium-carbon monofluoride which has a number of advantages over currently available cells. We have improved the energy density and performance of lithium ion batteries - the most advanced rechargeable batteries available commercially.

We can test a wide range of battery types and sizes, including thermal and electric vehicle batteries. We have an extensive suite of battery development facilities and research tools allowing us to make prototype cells to fit demanding applications and size constraints.

We have a wealth of experience in the design, construction and integration of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells running on pure or reformed hydrogen and methanol. We have also been investigating solid oxide fuel cells and novel liquid fuelled cells to improve direct methanol type cells. Fuel cells offer a clean and efficient power source and are especially relevant in the move towards electric vehicles and distributed domestic power generation. We are currently developing a series of man portable fuel cell systems for military applications and have also designed and built a fuel cell powered battery charger that charges laptop computer batteries.

We have been developing and testing hydrogen storage technology for some years - key to the commercial success of fuel cells. Our own primary hydrogen storage system can store 11% by weight of hydrogen compared to the 5% available from most commercial systems. We have built and tested reformation systems which convert hydrocarbon fuels, such as aviation fuel and diesel, to purified hydrogen.

We also investigate other renewable sources of energy and energy converters such as thermoelectric and piezoelectric devices. This increases the options and energy available to users of portable electronics such as mobile phones and laptop computers.