The methanol fuel cells fall under the classification of proton exchange fuel cells where methanol is employed as the primary fuel. The noticeable advantage of methanol fuel cells is the convenience of transportation. Methanol is known to be quite stable liquid and suitable for all kinds of atmospheric conditions. The methanol fuel cells are not exactly known for their efficiency, but they are mainly preferred for easy portability, where their energy as well as power density is given more priority.

The fuel cell devices can generate a small quantity of power over sustained duration of time which makes them very popular and hence they are most suited for consumer products like cell phones, digital cameras and also laptops, which are the main fuel cell device in wide usage at the moment.

The importance of these fuel cells have been found in military applications as they generate low noise and heat and do not produce poisonous effluents or vapors. The benefits of the fuel cell powered devices are their durable power in contrast to rechargeable batteries, spontaneous recharging advantages by substituting the disposable fuel cartridge, non-poisonous wastage and above all their light weight. On account of this, methanol fuel cells are developed by a number of companies as a dependable and alternative power source for such electronic appliances which are generally carried around all the time.