To investigate the possibility of a cost-effective direct borohydride fuel cell (DBFC), the performance enhancement of a single cell is investigated under practical running conditions by adopting non-precious metal for the anode. Fluorinated Zr-based AB(2)-type hydrogen storage alloy with an effective area of 100 cm(2) is selected as the anode catalyst. To minimize pressure loss from the enlarged cell size, a parallel-type anode channel is designed, then the principal reasons for performance degradation are analyzed. Single-cell performance is mainly enhanced by adopting a corrugated anode design, applying an anti-corrosion coating on the cathode channel, and controlling the fuel flow-rate and air humidity. The cell performance is estimated simply by measuring the wall temperature of the cell. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.