SlashPhone » fuel cell

Toshiba to Start Selling Dynario Fuel Cell Battery

Kim Poh Liaw — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:31:22 +0000

Toshiba today announced the launch of its first direct methanol fuel-cell product: Dynario. The Dynario has a dedicated fuel cartridge for refueling on the go, and only 3,000 units will be available at initial launch. It runs on mix of methanol and ambient oxygen, and the chemical reaction between the two in the fuel cell produces electricity. Orders will be accepted from October 22, and shipping will start on October 29.

The palm-sized Dynario is Toshiba’s first DMFC product. Once fueled with an injection of methanol solution from its dedicated cartridge, Dynario starts to generate electricity that is delivered to a mobile phone or other supported mobile devices via USB connection. On a single refill of methanol which can be made in an instant period (around 20 seconds), Dynario can generate enough power to charge two typical mobile phones.

Toshiba Dynario will be sold at around $328 USD, and each set of liquid refilling cartridges (5 units) is available at $34.

[via engadgetmobile]

MTI Micro Mobion Fuel Cells Works Longer with Less Power Degradation

Kim Poh Liaw — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 03:51:47 +0000

MTI MicroFuel Cells has achieved 2,700 hours of continuous operation with a Mobion laboratory cell. The test also successfully demonstrated an improvement by showing power degradation of less than 15% .

According to Frost and Sullivan, the average power degradation in a lithium ion battery can be approximately 50% of their charging capacity after two years. As most cell phone users notice after a short time of ownership, the battery in their phone does not hold a charge like it did when it was new. They must recharge their phones more and more often and be more conscious of saving power.

MTI Micro’s strategy is to provide Mobion portable power products for use in the multi-billion dollar consumer electronics industry for applications including cell phones, digital cameras, PDAs, MP3 players and other handheld electronic devices. The Company’s Mobion, 100% methanol feed, passive DMFC technology has been demonstrated in fully-functional prototypes and concept models in three primary product directions: external cord-free rechargeable power packs, attached fuel cell power sources and embedded micro fuel cell designs.

via [slashgear]

Sharp Announes Progress on Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC) Power Density

Kim Poh Liaw — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:30:50 +0000

Last week, Sharp has announced that it had achieved the world’s highest power density, 0.3W/cc, for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) for mobile equipment. This new technology enables efficient power generation from a small cell volume. Thus, the use of this technology can make it possible to develop fuel cells that have almost the same volume but a longer continuous.

An example of mobile phone powered by fuel cell

Because fuel cells use energy produced by the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, they have a small impact on the global environment. Also, fuel cells are expected to become the next-generation power generating devices because of their high generating efficiency that comes from converting chemical energy directly into electrical energy. In particular, DMFC have a simple structure in which power is generated through a chemical reaction between methanol supplied directly to the power generation part and oxygen in the air, making them suitable for miniaturization.

In the future, through continuing to pursue the development of this elemental technology, cell volume can be further miniaturized, and the creation of cells with the same volume but a longer lifespan than the currently mainstream lithium-ion batteries can be achieved.

via [slashgear]

In 2010 Your Phone Might be Powered by Water

Kim Poh Liaw — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 04:01:18 +0000

Samsung Electro-Mechanics has developed a micro-fuel cell and hydrogen generator that runs on water, writes the Chosun Ilbo. Oh Yong-soo, vice president of Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ research centre, who said that when the handset is turned on, metal and water in the phone react to produce hydrogen gas. The gas is then supplied to the fuel cell where it reacts with oxygen in the air to generate power. Other fuel cells need methanol to produce hydrogen, while Samsung’s needs only water.

Since the micro-fuel cell can generate up to three watts of electricity, it could be used in mobile devices. The new fuel cell could power a handset for ten hours, twice as long as rechargeable batteries. Oh Yong-soo said water-powered handsets are expected to hit the market by 2010.

Oh said water-powered handsets are expected to hit the market by 2010. “If the user uses the phone for four hours a day on average, they would have to change the hydrogen cartridge about every five days,” Oh said. “Later handsets will be developed that don’t need the hydrogen cartridges to be changed, and would only need to be filled with water.”

via [engadgetmobile]