The 2009 International Nanotechnology Exhibition in Tokyo is a hot bed of tiny tech. Among the items on display at the exhibition is the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology’s (AIST) sugar cube-sized solid-oxide fuel cell.

The tiny solid-oxide fuel cell contains 25 tiny needle modules that are less than one millimeter each. The ratio of area to volume gives it a great pound-for-pound performance.

The small size of AIST’s solid-oxide fuel cell also means it has a significantly lower running temperature. Where a typical solid-oxide fuel cell performs at temperatures between 700 and 1,000° C while the AIST version runs at 550° C. With such a low absolute value of thermal expansion the AIST module benefits from a speedy start-up time of less than five minutes.

Initial applications for the micro fuel cell is expected to be in the CPUs of cars but there is definitely potential to see it used to power entire vehicles.