Micro Power Generation Based on Micro Gas Turbines: a Challenge

Introduction The current trend towards miniaturization, portability and, more generally, ubiquitous intelligence has led to the development of a wide range of new products such as laptops, cellular phones, PDAs, etc. However, the power requirements of such systems have received much less attention: typically, traditional battery-operated electronic systems are used. Nevertheless, the energy density of most fuel types is still 100 times higher than that of the best rechargeable batteries, which makes the use of a fuel-based micro power unit interesting. Such power units can be based on a wide range of operating principles, ranging from fuel cells and thermo-electric devices to combustion engines and gas turbines. While fuel cells are expected to offer the highest efficienMicro Power Generation Based on Micro Gas Turbines: a Challenge