Toshiba has announced for a while that they will introduce on the market a direct methanol fuel cell-based battery charger(DMFC) at the end of march 2009. The company also announced it will releases for market DMFC packs for cellphones and laptops starting with April.
Details for the launching are not as we would expect, maybe to cover a technology theft? But considering the actual lack of information it won’t be surprising if Toshiba will delay the release of DMFC for cell phones…But this will probably delay as well the laptops versions.
Breakthroughs are happening constantly in fuel cells, but the major problem is getting them onto the market. But Toshiba wants to keep their promise in putting the direct methanol fuel cell-based battery onto the market by the end of their current financial quarter.
DMFCs produce electricity from a reaction between methanol, water and air. Direct methanol fuel cell-based battery are a green source of energy compared to traditional batteries. Another advantage is that they can be replenished in seconds with a new cartridge of methanol.
Toshiba and it’s Japanese competitors have been working for several years on fuel cells but it seems that it took a while until the final product can be released to the market. Ceatec show from September last year brought to attention a prototype of a fuel-cell charged cell phone.
Since then Toshiba’s been quiet until this week but time will tell if in the next two months we will see the fuel battery charger or not.
No, no ! They’ll be easy to refill, with some rubbing alcohol and an eyedropper.
The only challenge at the moment is making the DMFC small enough to replace a lithium cell entirely.
I hope and pray they come out with a DMFC exactly the size of a D battery.
Imagine having an LED flashlight that you could refill with alcohol and that wouldn’t lose charge on the shelf.
These things pollute like crazy, they want to make them disposable after use market. What a bunch of crap. Keep your eye on the words “with a new cartridge”, just like a million cigarette boxes, all over the place, in the streets. No one buy these, even with the very minimal power useage change(cell phones need 45 minutes every 2 days, at wattage of less then the computer you’re using right now).