Portable power cell maker Lilliputian Systems, Inc., partners with Intel

Portable power cell maker Lilliputian Systems, Inc., partners with Intel.

Lilliputian Systems, Inc. has developed the world’s first Personal Power™ solution for Consumer Electronics devices, a revolutionary and disruptive family of products targeted at the $50 billion portable power market. The Company’s breakthrough solution delivers the only viable small form-factor battery replacement that provides the enormous run-time improvements demanded by today’s CE devices.

A compact fuel cell can power consumer electronics, using replaceable $2 butane cartridges. The energy density of butane (a/k/a lighter fuel), of course, is much higher than a lithium ion battery.

Wilmington-based Lilliputian has been slowly improving its fuel cell prototypes. Today they’re announcing that Intel Capital is making an investment in Lilliputian, and that the chipmaker will also produce the silicon wafers — a crucial component of the finished fuel cells — at its Hudson, Mass. manufacturing plant.

The Lilliputian Mobile Power System will cost about $100 and will be sold by partners, says vice president Mouli Ramani. Initially, it’ll be used to recharge devices like mobile phones, Bluetooth headsets, digital cameras, and music players that have USB ports. (Power-thirsty laptops require more than the MPS’ three watts of electricity, and Lilliputian’s initial product won’t be capable of recharging them.)

Lilliputian’s power systems will be integrated into new mobile phones or laptops, rather than sold as accessories. Instead of plugging them into a wall outlet once a day, you’d just jam in a new butane cartridge every week or two.

Prior to the Intel investment, the company had raised about $90 million in venture capital, and taken a $5 million low-interest loan from two state agencies, MassDevelopment and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. The company’s backers include Kleiner Perkins, Atlas Venture, Stata Venture Partners, and Rockport Capital.

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