Laptop Fuel Cells

[rynnor]

Anyone got one? I'd like to buy one but havent found anyone in the UK who seems to do them.

Heres an example - Medis Xtreme Charger Starter Kit - Fuel Cell Store

 

[Cadelin]

"Fuel cell" sounds like just a gimmicky name for a battery! Take the one that you posted, it can only charge a mobile phone or an mp3 player. It doesn't even say it will be able to fully charge them, it might just have enough energy to let you make an emergency call etc.

If you want extra power you are better of buying a second battery. If a technology existed that provided more power than the current batteries for a similar price and size then it would already be used. From the same site you mention in your post there suggestion to charge a laptop is this, which is basically just a big rechargable battery.

If you want a device that can recharge your laptop in the middle of nowhere (say on a camping trip) then the best bet is some portable solar panels but they are extremely expensive.

 

[Ch3tan]

Cadelin, you need to read about them first.

Fuel Cell Store.com offers fuel cells and related products

start there.

 

[Cadelin]

Cadelin, you need to read about them first.

Fuel Cell Store.com offers fuel cells and related products

start there.

I know about hydrogen fuel cells thankyou. The advantage of something like a fuel cell in a car is that it can re-charged when the car is rolling down a hill. In the case of a laptop there is no way you can get energy back so it has no advantage over a plain old battery. My original post is still perfectly valid.

 

[rynnor]

Yes its a brand new implementation of technology - its not a battery but rather a small generally alcohol based power generator.

And they can last for ages! And unlike batteries no nasty chemicals.

They'll be mainstream in a year or two I imagine?

 

[Cadelin]

Yes its a brand new implementation of technology - its not a battery but rather a small generally alcohol based power generator.

And they can last for ages! And unlike batteries no nasty chemicals.

They'll be mainstream in a year or two I imagine?

Its not a brand new implementation of technology, the concept has been around for a long time. Fuel cells do provide much higher energy density storage than traditional batteries. However the only genuine commerical hydrogen fuel cells are still large and used in cars and boats and these are expensive still. If you check the wiki page you will notice that all the applications it mentions are still large.

I am sure the technology will eventually (~5 years) be scaled down to use in laptops but it is not currently available to the consumer.

 

[rynnor]

Its not a brand new implementation of technology, the concept has been around for a long time.

Concept and implementation are two different things - I was specific with my use of the correct word.

However the only genuine commerical hydrogen fuel cells are still large and used in cars and boats and these are expensive still. If you check the wiki page you will notice that all the applications it mentions are still large.

I dont know why you keep mentioning hydrogen fuel cell's - let me make it abundantly clear that these are not hydrogen fuel cells thankyou

 

[Cadelin]

Concept and implementation are two different things - I was specific with my use of the correct word.

But I have yet to see anything new being implemented.

I dont know why you keep mentioning hydrogen fuel cell's - let me make it abundantly clear that these are not hydrogen fuel cells thankyou

What are you talking about then? I would be really quite interested to know.

 

[rynnor]

This is the kind of thing - BBC NEWS | Technology | Alcohol-powered laptops ahead

Edit - oh and this seems about the latest on those - http://www.macworld.co.uk/digitallifestyle/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=25489

 

[Cadelin]

This is the kind of thing - BBC NEWS | Technology | Alcohol-powered laptops ahead

Edit - oh and this seems about the latest on those - Toshiba delays first fuel cell product for phones and laptops - Digital Lifestyle - Macworld UK

Those are still proton exchange (aka hydrogen) fuel cells and that was what I was talking about too. The point remains that you can't yet buy them for laptops.

 

[Yaka]

i was under the impression they couldnt safely store these yet? or has some thing changed?

 

[Chilly]

surely this is a methane one?

 

[Jeros]

but how much will it cost!

 

[rynnor]

i was under the impression they couldnt safely store these yet? or has some thing changed?

The hydrogen ones are dodgy - hydrogen is bloody difficult to store and tends to leak out - estimates for the hydrogen cars were that you'd lose something like 5% per day of the hydrogen via leakage.

Bit tricky if you park it in a badly ventilated garage for a few days and happen to be a smoker

The alcohol ones are safe - you can take up to 3 on a plane in the US for example.

 

[Chilly]

You wouldnt use hydrogen for this. Youd use something far more stable like methane or another similar short chain hydrocarbon. The japanese have prototypes of liquid-fuelled cells running laptops etc. Problems:

size - too big atm, but not that big
exhaust - kicked out CO and CO2 not very safe