Patent 7470478 was granted and assigned to California Institute of Technology on December, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Improvements to non acid methanol fuel cells include new formulations for materials. The platinum and ruthenium are more exactly mixed together. Different materials are substituted for these materials. The backing material for the fuel cell electrode is specially treated to improve its characteristics. A special sputtered electrode is formed which is extremely porous.