Sharp Corporation reports that is has achieved the world's highest power density, 0.3W/cc, for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) for mobile equipment as of May 2008. This new technology enables efficient power generation from a small cell volume. Thus, the use of this technology can make it possible to develop fuel cells that have almost the same volume but a longer continuous-use lifespan than lithium-ion batteries, which are the main type currently in use. Sharp will promote further research and development for the practical application of fuel cells for mobile equipment such as PDAs, electronic dictionaries, and notebook computers.

Because fuel cells use energy produced by the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, they have a small impact on the global environment. Also, fuel cells are expected to become the next-generation power generating devices because of their high generating efficiency that comes from converting chemical energy directly into electrical energy. In particular, DMFC have a simple structure in which power is generated through a chemical reaction between methanol supplied directly to the power generation part and oxygen in the air, making them suitable for miniaturization. Therefore, since these fuel cells have great potential for future use in mobile equipment, active research and development on DMFC is intensifying all over the world. However, there are some problems that need to be solved, such as their low power density that increases the size of the power generation part and, as a result, increases the total cell volume.