British fuel cell developer, Intelligent Energy Holdings Plc, is working on a fuel-cell that would require phones to be charged only once a week. It has also said that the technology could be available within two years. The company has said that an emerging smartphone maker will provide 5.25 million pounds to develop a fuel cell that would be small enough to be embedded in mobile phones. The contract with the unnamed smartphone maker will allow Intelligent Energy to develop a prototype fuel cell phone.
Henri Winand, The Chief Executive of Intelligent Energy, told Bloomberg that a fuel cell-powered phone could be on the market if the partnership with the smartphone maker works. He added, “The killer app is a battery with a seven-day refresh life and we think that will appeal to everyone. It’s not just for intrepid explorers.” Julian Hughes, Acting Managing Director for Intelligent Energy’s Consumer Electronics division, said, “Embedding fuel-cell technology into portable devices provides a solution to the current dilemma of battery life. With consumers demanding more and more from their phones, battery innovation has not kept up.”
For the uninitiated, fuel cell technology converts hydrogen into electricity, and the only byproduct is water vapour. The technology is already being used in some vehicles, and shrinking the technology down so that it fits into electronic gadgets is the next big step. However, having fuel cells powering phones is not a new idea. Back in 2011, it was reported that Apple had filed a patent for a fuel cell-powered battery technology for iOS and OS X portable devices. The patent application showed a fuel cell stack to convert fuel into electricity, as well as a regulating controller, power link, and a communication link. In 2009, Sony had showcased prototypes of a small fuel cell that could be used to charge devices. One of the devices looked like a portable radio with a methanol fuel cell and a Lithium ion battery. The device came with a USB port for charging other devices, while any excess energy was used to charge the battery.