Under terms of the deal, MTI Micro will receive $1m for working exclusively for Samsung, and has agreed to deliver to Samsung, on or before October 31, 2006, two prototypes that meet secret specifications agreed between the companies.
The short time-frame for delivery suggests that Samsung is confident about the technology and is anxious to see it adapted for its handsets for a rollout that could be as early as 2007.
Manufacturers of portable devices will eagerly follow Samsung’s move because the short working life of traditional lithium ion batteries is a major problem for both developers and users of devices.
Samsung Electronics vice president YoungWoo Lee said that by allying with MTI Micro, Samsung is going 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, he said.
To prevent other handset vendors from using MTI Micro’s system, Samsung will own all IP related to mobile phone or mobile phone-specific accessories, while MTI Micro will retain the IP related to other fuel cells, leaving it free to sell to makers of other types of portable device.
Though the agreement is restricted to prototypes, and undoubtedly mirrors behind-the-scenes work at other handset vendors to evaluate the potential of fuel cell technology, the announcement is an important endorsement of the technology and reflects Samsung’s frustration that it is restricted on the new features it can add to a device.
While a whole number of start-ups are working on different approaches to the development of fuel cells, New York-based MTI Micro is a subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed Mechanical Technology Inc, and generates electrical power using 100% methanol as fuel. It aims 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 CEO Peng Lim said the company’s aim is to make Mobion standard power source used for powering all types of mobile products, and said its work with Samsung on mobile phones and accessory applications will be a major step in achieving that goal.
The agreement led to a 27.56% increase in parent Mechanical Technology’s share price to $4.0308.
