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Energy Policy Forum > 2002
Articles
Fuel Cells Next Trend in Batteries
ArcaMax Science News
March 12, 2002
The London Times reports that the next trend in mobile computing
will be fuel cells which would replace batteries currently
used in devices from wristwatches to submarines, all of
which have one big drawback: They have to be replaced or
recharged. Recharging a battery can take hours, even for
a mobile phone. Fuel cells appear to provide the answer
since they can be recharged simply by adding more chemicals,
much like filling a car with fuel. In fact gasoline could
be used, although cleaner alternatives such as ethanol
or propane are preferable. The Fraunhofer Institute of
Germany, which develops solar power technology, has built
a prototype handheld computer embedded with solar panels
which recharge a small hydrogen fuel cell. Toshiba recently
demonstrated a handheld computer powered by a fuel cell
which only needs to be topped up with methanol occasionally.
Two drawbacks to the fuel cells are that they could be
expensive initially and customers might feel jittery about
using fuel on their electronics. However, a mobile computer
using a fuel cell that can run for up to 20 hours, three
times longer than today's batteries, has benefits.
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