Power engineers are developing a new small fuel cell which will be placed in batteries to enable them to be recharged without requiring access to a wall socket, the Wall Street Journal confirmed yesterday (28th October).

Hybrid fuel cell technology, which traditionally operates by generating electricity through reacting hydrogen with oxygen, is currently big business in the automotive industry, with cleaner emissions as the motivation.

However, manufacturers are now hoping that the latest designs will see them cut in on the $71 billion-per-year global battery market.

Martin Schmidt, Associate Provost at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told the news provider: "The fundamental premise is that batteries have a limit as to how much energy you can store per unit of weight. The energy in chemical fuels is much higher."

It is believed that while automakers have been looking at larger fuel cells for some time, the fact that hydrogen is not widely available means that quicker advances in portable electronics could be more attainable.

Lilliputian Systems, for instance, has been demonstrating a small ceramic fuel cell prototype which makes use of butane, the gas commonly known for being contained in cigarette lighters.

The start-up firm has stated that the new technology will be ready for shipment next year, while Toshiba has claimed that it will be selling a fuel cell-powered mobile phone in Japan in the first quarter of 2009.

While the main concern involves how to insulate the fuel cells, which run at 700 degrees centigrade, the possibility of being able to charge batteries by simply using a gas canister is exciting industry figures.

"This technology has perennially been 18 months away," Walter Thornton, Vice President of the supply chain for Igo Inc, told online.wsj.com.

"Now, we're actually 18 months away."

Market research firm Fredonia Group claimed recently that the worldwide battery industry is growing by 4.8 per cent every year.



Source:

The Search for a Better Battery Seems Everlasting (28/10/08)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122514888694374121.html?mod=googlenews_wsj