Researchers at Cornell University in the US have challenged prevailing fuel cell wisdom by throwing out three standard characteristics of today's mainstream systems to drive down their cost. Héctor Abruña and Abraham Stroock's team changed the fuel and oxidant chemicals used and the cell design that keeps them apart, getting power densities above 0.25 W/cm2. 'What we attain is extraordinary for a device that simple,' Abruña tells Chemistry World. 'Fuel cells for automotive applications are typically around 1-2W/cm2. It's not that far off.' The microfluidic fuel cell doesn't need an expensive Nafion membrane to keep the fuel and oxidant separate © Cornell...