A polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system is developed to power a notebook computer. The system consists of a compact methanol-reforming system with a CO preferential oxidation unit, a 16-cell PEMFC stack, and a control unit for the management of the system with a d.c.-d.c. converter. The compact fuel-processor system (260 cm(3)) generates about 1.2 L min(-1) of reformate, which corresponds to 35 We, with a low CO concentration (< 30 ppm, typically 0 ppm), and is thus Proven to be capable of being targetted at notebook computers. Crown Copyright (c) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.