Jeff St. John | April 3, 2009 at 1:27 PM

Lilliputian Gets $28M For Mini Fuel Cells

Lilliputian Systems Inc. has landed $28 million to advance commercialization of its miniature fuel cells for what's so far proven to be a tough market for the technology — consumer electronics. New investors Stata Venture Partners and Altira Group LLC joined previous investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, Atlas Venture, Fairhaven Capital and Rockport Capital, the company reported Thursday. Lilliputian has previously raised more than $60 million, according to the company's Web site. Lilliputian also added a new CEO on Thursday — Ray Stata, founder of Stata Venture Partners and co-founder of Analog Devices, the company said Thursday. The seven-year old, Wilmington, Mass.-based startup says its ceramic solid-oxide fuel cells can pack up to 10 times the energy of a similarly sized battery at much lower weight. Beyond that, the secretive Massachusetts Institute of Technology spinout last month revealed some more details on how it intends to sell its products. The company hopes to sell its fuel cell chargers for about $200, then sell disposable butane cartridges for $1 to $3 each, according to this March 19 report from Technology Review, a MIT publication. Each cartridge could recharge an iPhone 16 to 20 times, and will be sealed, making them acceptable for use on airplanes (see Will Micro Fuel Cells Fly High?)  Lilliputian is now testing prototypes and "signing commercialization agreements with select customers," according to the company's Web site. Fuel cells have found their place in certain niche markets, such as military uses and for forklifts (see Uncle Sam Wants Portable Fuel Cells). But they haven't been widely adopted for consumer electronics, where rechargeable batteries remain dominant. MTI MicroFuel Cells is working on miniature fuel cells for GPS devices and digital cameras (see Fueling More Flash). But parent company Mechanical Technology Inc. told investors last week that it may run out of money after April if it can't raise additional financing.

Medis Technologies in February came out with a fuel cell to power cellphones, flashlights and other small electronics, bit it can't be refilled and costs $35 to $50 for 40 hours of power. Medis hopes to bring a refillable cell to market in the next 12 to 18 months.

Toshiba has been on the forefront of fuel cells for portable electronics for years, and said in January it plans to release a methanol-based fuel cell battery charger by the end of March. Fuel cells for cellphones and computers could come in the next 12 months or so, it said.