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fuel cell posts

Sprint nabs $7.3M grant for hydrogen fuel cells at cell sites

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 21st 2009 @ 10:47AM

The US Department of Energy is feeling generous with some $41.9 million worth of cold, hard cash in a round of grants aimed at advancing fuel cell tech, and Sprint ended up scoring some $7.3 million of it -- the only carrier to do so. Carriers and hydrogen fuel cells don't seem like a natural fit at first, but it turns out that backup power at cell sites is kind of a big deal, and fuel cells are a perfect fit for a reliable, long-running, zero-emission solution. Interestingly, Sprint has been really into this for a while now -- it's their third awarded grant, and it turns out that they've had fuel cells deployed at sites since way back in 2005 (and they've even got 12 patents under their belt to prove it). Most current sites offer up to 15 hours of power in the event of an emergency using low-pressure hydrogen tanks, and the carrier says that it'll use the latest cash infusion to work with its partners to boost that up to 72 hours. Probably worse ways for the government to spend $7.3 million, when you think about it (say, on no-bid contracts for surplus eraser heads for Number 2 pencils, for instance).

Toshiba powers cell phone with methanol fuel cell -- no, you can't have one

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Oct 1st 2008 @ 4:47AM

Toshiba continues to tease us with its prototype liquid fuel cell-powered gadgets: last year it was a Gigabeat media player, and at this year's CEATEC you can check out a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) that's been crammed inside a cell phone, lending it a robust six hours of talk time (compared to the paltry three or four hours of a traditional battery). Toshiba won't reveal the capacity of the DMFC, but they have said that a 50ml cartridge is good for about 15 refills. No release date yet, but the phone "might" be available "as early as next year." In the meantime, enjoy this picture of a woman holding a flip phone with "DMFC" clearly visible on the display.

Samsung aiming for water-powered cellphones by 2010

by Nilay Patel posted Apr 18th 2008 @ 6:13PM

We've seen quite a few prototype fuel-cell powered mobile devices, but Samsung's upping the ante by predicting that we'll all be running our phones on water by 2010. The company says it's developed a method to generate hydrogen by exposing water to metal, but the details are a little shaky -- we're guessing it's similar to the system used in the HydroPak generator, but it's hard to tell. Still, we've got no reason to doubt Samsung's engineers, who say the system currently provides about 10 hours of use, or about five days of average cell usage, and will eventually allow users to simply top off and go. That's every traveler's dream -- let's get this to market, Sammy.

Hydrogen fuel cell-powered MOTOSLVR L7 prototype gets pictured

by Darren Murph posted Feb 16th 2008 @ 1:46PM

Right around a month ago, we heard that Angstrom Power had managed to stuff some of its sophisticated hydrogen fuel cells into a MOTOSLVR L7. That prototype, friends, is what you see about. Unfortunately, we're no closer to realizing when this stuff will actually escape the proverbial beta stage, and for whatever it's worth, we're also no closer to feeling absolutely safe with one of these next to our melon (though existing alternatives don't have the greatest track record either).

Motorola curiously shows off fuel cell technology at MWC

by Darren Murph posted Feb 13th 2008 @ 11:46AM

Okay, we suppose cellphone companies trumpeting some sort of fuel cell technology isn't that weird, but nevertheless, Moto sure seems proud of its most recent advancements. Showcased at this year's Mobile World Congress are a number of "alternative power solutions including fuel cell and reflow batteries," which can be deployed in most every wireless / mobile environment out there. More specifically, the outfit is demonstrating a fuel cell-powered WiMAX base station, and it's also suggesting that said technology could "further guarantee [the] availability of uninterrupted power" in TETRA radio networks that are used in public safety environments. Fascinating, no?

NEC Flask Phone sports fuel cell, not for human consumption

by Sean Cooper posted Jan 28th 2008 @ 11:13AM

NEC is set to begin pushing fuel cell-powered handsets if the pic we see here can be believed. The handset features a touchscreen display and what appears to be valve to potentially recharge the handset once the fuel has all been used. Color choices are a bit too pastel for our liking, but it appears the liquid provides the color, so perhaps we'll get some cooler tones when it's released sometime this year -- if it's released. No word on any specs, pricing, networks, or anything, so until we get that bit of detail sorted, enjoy the pretty pic.

[Via textually.org]

Angstrom Power touts hydrogen fuel cells for cellphones

by Donald Melanson posted Jan 15th 2008 @ 9:10PM

There's certainly no shortage of companies out there trying to provide unconventional means of keeping your cellphone powered, and it looks like you can now add yet another ever-recurring bit of tech to the list, with Angstrom Power now touting its hydrogen fuel cells for cellphones. While they're obviously still quite a ways from landing in your handset, Angstrom does seem to be a good deal further than the concept stage, with them having already managed to cram some of the cells into a MOTOSLVR L7. That transplant, Angstrom says, gives the phone twice the juice of a standard battery and lets it recharge in just ten minutes. Just don't look for those anytime before 2010, which is when Angstrom "hopes" the first commercial phones equipped with the fuel cells will be available.

[Via Physorg]

SAIT and Samsung team for smallest fuel cell charger

by Paul Miller posted Dec 1st 2006 @ 12:52PM

There's a big difference between "smallest" and "small enough," but SAIT and Samsung SDI might've just crossed the gap with their new joint-developed fuel cell mobile charger. The device, which the companies claim is the world's smallest fuel cell charger yet, can pump 2W of juice, and supposedly charges mobile devices in 1/5 the time of competing offerings. At 5.3 ounces, and measuring a mere 5mm thick, it shouldn't be much of a problem at all to slip this into your bag, letting you extend the life of your PDA, phone, camera or PMP. In tests the charger has completed 200 continuous charges, and is nearly ready for market -- with over 120 patents involved in making this thing tick. The unit is based on small user-replaceable methanol cartridges, providing "limitless" power if you're willing to spring for enough fuel cartridges. There's no exact word on when these things will hit retail shelves, but Samsung expects chargers like this, along with fuel cell-based laptop batteries to be commonplace in 2-3 years.

[Thanks, Mike]

Just add water: NTT DoCoMo to demo new fuel cell charger

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 17th 2006 @ 11:16PM

Countrywide 3G coverage: check. Plethora of gorgeous 3G phones in all shapes, sizes, and platforms: check. 4G development well underway: check. Dismal standby times: check. With battery tech having largely stagnated over the last few years, Japan's NTT DoCoMo has turned their attention to powering all that buttery, broadband goodness via more creative means, showing their direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) recharger last year. The DMFC wasn't a bad first effort, but how about shrinking it by a factor of four, doubling the output, and swapping methanol for water? That's what they've managed to do through a partnership with Aquafairy Co., pumping out a prototype polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) that rocks 800mAh at 3.6V -- enough juice to recharge your average FOMA handset in the same time as a wall wart. The new unit gets shown off this week at Wireless Japan 2006 with production plans slated for next year; availability outside Japan is (as usual) an open question, but with battery life falling to under a day on some modern smartphones, we can only hope manufacturers' hands are going to be forced on this one.

[Via The Raw Feed]