Micro Fuel Cells Could Bring Many Days Of Power To Phones And Laptops
Canon, Matsushita, Samsung, and Toshiba are among those developing micro fuel cell products, and Intel is testing the technology for laptop computers.
By Mark LaPedus, EE Times
A flurry of activity in the development of micro fuel cells is pushing the technology along as an alternative energy source for mobile devices, although it could still take years to commercialize it for the mass market.
Developers of micro fuel cells say the technology is superior to conventional batteries for cell phones, laptop computers, and video recorders. The cells could provide days of talk time on cell phones compared with the several hours lithium ion batteries provide.
Never be offline again.
Big electronics companies such as Canon, Matsushita, Samsung, and Toshiba, plus a number of startups, are developing micro fuel cell products. The International Electrotechnical Commission recently published a safety specification for cells for powering personal electronic devices. Fuels covered in the spec include methanol, formic acid, borohydride, butane, and hydrogen. The spec could help facilitate government approval for the use of fuel cell-operated devices on passenger airplanes as early as next year.
Earlier this month, Pacific Fuel Cell announced completion of a prototype of carbon nanomater-ial-based membrane electrode assemblies, dubbed nanoMEAs, that it says will result in low- cost micro fuel cells. Also, Germany's BASF Group said it will develop and test formic-acid formulations for Tekion, a company developing fuel cells for mobile phones.
There also are advances with the technology for notebook computers. Millennium Cell is providing a 15-watt hydrogen battery prototype for Intel's proposed Mobile Power System architecture. The hydrogen battery is a sealed, single-use cartridge similar in size and shape to a traditional battery pack.
And UltraCell recently unveiled the UltraCell XX25, a micro fuel cell system that uses methanol. A pre-production unit of the XX25, designed for the military, will be able to run a laptop computer in a typical duty cycle for up to two working days on a single methanol fuel cell cartridge, according to the company.
Still, much of the technology remains in the research and development stage. Said Jesse Pichel, an analyst with Piper Jaffray, in a recent report: "Micro fuel cells are years away from commercial deployment, but considerable R&D is under way, funded in part by the military to power portable communications equipment in the field."
4.18.2006
MicroHydrogen Fuel Cell Bicycle Light
Ten volunteers bike the equivalent of Vancouver to Ottawa using Angstrom Power's hydrogen bike lights.
Angstrom Power announced today that participants in its micro hydrogen™ bike light program have logged over 5,000km, about the distance of Vancouver to Ottawa or Seattle to Boston. Ten volunteers gave up their cars last November and biked to work in all weather conditions. Each volunteer used bike lights powered by Angstrom's micro hydrogen™ fuel cells in place of disposable batteries. Biking 5,000 kilometres instead of driving has displaced about 1.5 metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
"The micro hydrogen™ bike lights have delivered exceptional performance in both winter and spring conditions," said Annalise Czerny, Technology Demonstration Coordinator for Angstrom Power. "User feedback on lighting, refueling and overall ease of use has been unanimously positive."
Angstrom's micro hydrogen™ bike lights can be affixed to a helmet or handlebars. Each bike light runs on hydrogen that is stored in a 21cc cartridge, which provides the equivalent energy of about 10 AA disposable alkaline batteries. The only by-product is water vapor. The light provides about 20 hours of continuous run-time between refueling. Cyclists refuel their cartridges with hydrogen gas. Refueling takes only minutes to complete.
Angstrom currently offers a complete micro hydrogen™ bike light program, including bike lights, refueling stations and training for qualified public and private organizations.
Angstrom Power announced today that participants in its micro hydrogen™ bike light program have logged over 5,000km, about the distance of Vancouver to Ottawa or Seattle to Boston. Ten volunteers gave up their cars last November and biked to work in all weather conditions. Each volunteer used bike lights powered by Angstrom's micro hydrogen™ fuel cells in place of disposable batteries. Biking 5,000 kilometres instead of driving has displaced about 1.5 metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
"The micro hydrogen™ bike lights have delivered exceptional performance in both winter and spring conditions," said Annalise Czerny, Technology Demonstration Coordinator for Angstrom Power. "User feedback on lighting, refueling and overall ease of use has been unanimously positive."
Angstrom's micro hydrogen™ bike lights can be affixed to a helmet or handlebars. Each bike light runs on hydrogen that is stored in a 21cc cartridge, which provides the equivalent energy of about 10 AA disposable alkaline batteries. The only by-product is water vapor. The light provides about 20 hours of continuous run-time between refueling. Cyclists refuel their cartridges with hydrogen gas. Refueling takes only minutes to complete.
Angstrom currently offers a complete micro hydrogen™ bike light program, including bike lights, refueling stations and training for qualified public and private organizations.
Fuel Cells at Hanover Trade Show
Mobile devices are becoming more and more intelligent – allowing users to watch movies on a mobile phone or laptop, or navigate with a PDA – but at the same time they require increasing amounts of power. To prevent the PC screen from suddenly going black, or the music from being interrupted, Fraunhofer researchers are working on micro power engineering solutions to provide the mobile power needed by modern communications devices. The latest examples of their work can be seen at the Hanover Trade Fair in Hall 2/Stand D22, "Signposts to tomorrow's markets."
"Please save your data, the computer is shutting down" – for anyone who works while traveling on business, laboring over a new spreadsheet or writing an important document while sitting on the train, the threat of data loss can be frustrating. Each new generation of portable electronic devices incorporates new data acquisition and processing capabilities, and transfer speeds have meanwhile become fast enough to stream movies or soccer matches. But this comes at a price in terms of operating time – depending on the quality of the battery, a laptop, for example, shuts off after two to three hours if no power outlet is available. If used frequently, UMTS mobile phones must be charged at least once daily, while MP3 players with rechargeable batteries last just a few hours, depending on the quality of the battery.
"Please save your data, the computer is shutting down" – for anyone who works while traveling on business, laboring over a new spreadsheet or writing an important document while sitting on the train, the threat of data loss can be frustrating. Each new generation of portable electronic devices incorporates new data acquisition and processing capabilities, and transfer speeds have meanwhile become fast enough to stream movies or soccer matches. But this comes at a price in terms of operating time – depending on the quality of the battery, a laptop, for example, shuts off after two to three hours if no power outlet is available. If used frequently, UMTS mobile phones must be charged at least once daily, while MP3 players with rechargeable batteries last just a few hours, depending on the quality of the battery.
Fuel Cells at Hanover Trade Show
Mobile devices are becoming more and more intelligent – allowing users to watch movies on a mobile phone or laptop, or navigate with a PDA – but at the same time they require increasing amounts of power. To prevent the PC screen from suddenly going black, or the music from being interrupted, Fraunhofer researchers are working on micro power engineering solutions to provide the mobile power needed by modern communications devices. The latest examples of their work can be seen at the Hanover Trade Fair in Hall 2/Stand D22, "Signposts to tomorrow's markets."
"Please save your data, the computer is shutting down" – for anyone who works while traveling on business, laboring over a new spreadsheet or writing an important document while sitting on the train, the threat of data loss can be frustrating. Each new generation of portable electronic devices incorporates new data acquisition and processing capabilities, and transfer speeds have meanwhile become fast enough to stream movies or soccer matches. But this comes at a price in terms of operating time – depending on the quality of the battery, a laptop, for example, shuts off after two to three hours if no power outlet is available. If used frequently, UMTS mobile phones must be charged at least once daily, while MP3 players with rechargeable batteries last just a few hours, depending on the quality of the battery.
"Please save your data, the computer is shutting down" – for anyone who works while traveling on business, laboring over a new spreadsheet or writing an important document while sitting on the train, the threat of data loss can be frustrating. Each new generation of portable electronic devices incorporates new data acquisition and processing capabilities, and transfer speeds have meanwhile become fast enough to stream movies or soccer matches. But this comes at a price in terms of operating time – depending on the quality of the battery, a laptop, for example, shuts off after two to three hours if no power outlet is available. If used frequently, UMTS mobile phones must be charged at least once daily, while MP3 players with rechargeable batteries last just a few hours, depending on the quality of the battery.
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