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NTT DoCoMo and Aquafairy to Develop Micro Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell for FOMA Handsets


WEBWIRE

TOKYO, JAPAN, July 14, 2006 --- NTT DoCoMo, Inc. and Aquafairy Co. announced today that they agreed to jointly develop a micro fuel cell for 3G FOMA™ handsets. This agreement follows their successful development of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) that has proven effective in a prototype recharger.

The fuel cell is the smallest in the world with power output of 2 watts as of July 14. The recharger combines DoCoMo’s recharger technology with Aquafairy’s thin film power unit technology and catalyst for producing hydrogen from water. The simple hydrogen-producing mechanism and power units make the recharger less than one-fourth the size and more than twice as powerful as the methanol fuel cell prototype that DoCoMo unveiled on July 6, 2005. The easily portable recharger can charge a handset several times, and the recharging time is approximately the same as an AC adapter.

Demands for power consumption have risen with new FOMA services and features. To meet these demands, DoCoMo has worked on increasing the capacity of lithium-ion batteries, the most common battery in handsets today, and developed a direct methanol fuel cell recharger. Now, the company is also exploring the possibilities of PEFCs, which have higher power density than methanol cells and less environmental impact since they convert water into hydrogen.

DoCoMo will exhibit the recharger at its booth at Wireless Japan 2006 from July 19 to 21.

Please see the attachment for the specifications.

Attachment: www.nttdocomo.com/pr/files/20060714_attachment.pdf

About NTT DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo is the world’s leading mobile communications company. DoCoMo serves more than 51 million customers, of which more than half subscribe to FOMA™, launched as the world’s first 3G mobile service based on W-CDMA in 2001. DoCoMo also offers a wide variety of leading-edge mobile multimedia services, including i-mode™, the world’s most popular mobile e-mail/Internet service, used by more than 46 million people. With the addition of credit-card and other e-wallet functions, DoCoMo mobile phones have become highly versatile tools for daily life. NTT DoCoMo is listed on the Tokyo (9437), London (NDCM) and New York (DCM) stock exchanges.
For more information, visit www.nttdocomo.com.

i-mode and FOMA are trademarks or registered trademarks of NTT DoCoMo, Inc. in Japan and other countries.
NTT DoCoMo’s FOMA service is only available to subscribers in Japan.



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