Blog: Fuel Cells to Charge Mobile Phones

Mobile technology has its limits as batteries are quickly exhausted. Scientists are trying to develop alternatives to lithium ion mobile batteries.

After many setbacks in development, a small firm has shown that fuel cells may indeed be the way forward. Researchers are working on alternatives to integrated batteries that would lead to external fuel cell charging stations. Compared to lithium ion batteries the new environmentally-friendly fuel cell will supply between five and 10 times more power.

Toshiba’s Dynario – A Mobile Charger: Toshiba presented a mobile methanol fuel cell charger that can recharge a notebook over a USB cable, a year ago. The device is called the Dynario and about 3,000 were put on the market as part of a test run but nothing has been heard since.

Advantages of Fuel Cells: Fuel cells cannot store a charge, but they do offer many other advantages. Fuel cells are easier and cheaper to make and you don’t need a wall outlet to fill them up. Fuel cells use gases such as methanol or hydrogen to source their power and they are also a lot more environment-friendly than normal mobile batteries. Fuel cells generate electricity in a chemical reaction where hydrogen or methanol are combined with oxygen. Electrical energy is released during the process which can be used to power a mobile device.

Development of Fuel Cell Products: Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute in collaboration with companies like Toshiba and Samsung, is trying to develop new types of fuel cells that could make the technology more suited to portable consumer products. In 2007 Samsung created a prototype notebook powered by a methanol-fuelled cell, claiming that it could power the notebook for up to a month. But the technology never made it into the shops and Samsung is not prepared to say if it has managed to develop the prototype further.

Problems with Fuel Cells: Many unsolved problems and technical issues have prevented fuel cell-powered mobile devices from launching on the consumer market. “Electronics manufacturers have become more careful in their announcements,” says Ulf Groos from the Fraunhofer Institute. Failure to live up to expectations has happened too frequently but no one has given up on fuel cells because they offer so many advantages compared to mobile batteries. One problem that has yet to be solved is the heat generated by fuel cells. Reducing fuel cell size is also an issue, according to Groos. “We have not yet managed to integrate them into the devices.” Fuel cells are still too large to fit into small mobile devices.