U.K. firm develops first hydrogen powered smartphone battery that could charge your smartphone for a weekHow is the new hydrogen powered battery different from the battery used in Mobile Aqua:Working of new hydrogen powered battery:
How is the new hydrogen powered battery different from the battery used in Mobile Aqua:
It was in September 2012, that the portable hydrogen cells were developed by Rohm and used in “Mobile Aqua”; however these power sources were too bulky and expensive and hence could not capture the required attention and market. On the contrary, the new battery invented by the U.K. firm, is very thin and it easily fits into the existing chassis of the iPhone 6 without the need of any major alterations. Thus, at a glance the iPhone prototype, which has been fitted with the rechargeable hydrogen powered battery and its novel technology, has the same look and feel as that of a normal iPhone 6. The only difference from which a person can tell that the iPhone works on the new battery is the presence of small vents on the back side of the phone which aids in releasing the invisible amounts of water vapor, which is a byproduct of the hydrogen battery.
Working of new hydrogen powered battery:
This new hydrogen powered battery is a very small and thin cell that uses a combination of hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity. The byproducts of this battery is an imperceptible amount of water and heat for which the smartphone needs to be provided with small vents on its backside. The technology is just a miniature version of the the hydrogen fuel technology that is currently being implemented in the automotive industry. The hydrogen powered battery can help provide charge to the smartphone for a week; however it too needs to be recharged. For recharging the new battery, one needs to top up the fuel cell with hydrogen gas which can be done with the headphone socket that has been specifically designed for this purpose, in case of the prototype. CEO of Intelligent Energy, Henri Winand, told Telegraph: “To our knowledge this has never been done before. We have now managed to make a fuel cell so thin we can fit it to the existing chassis without alterations and retaining the rechargeable battery. This is a major step because if you are moving to a new technology you have to give people a path they are comfortable with.” For now, Intelligent Energy, has developed a prototype iPhone 6 using their new hydrogen powered battery and the company plans to develop a commercial version very soon. In the commercial version of the smartphone, the company plans to provide a disposable hydrogen fuel battery which would be in the form of a small cartridge which would fit into a special slot that would be provided in the bottom of the smartphone and act as the energy provider for a week’s time and once used it can be thrown off. The corporate finance chief of Intelligent Energy, Mark Lawson-Statham says “the technology is currently a couple of years out”. As of now the company estimates the commercial market to be worth around £300 billion a year, however the cost of the cartridge is yet to be decided. There are rumors that Intelligent Energy has been working closely with Apple to incorporate this technology in their iPhone 6 with minimum alterations; however neither of the firms have commented on these claims. Earlier portable fuel manufacturers could not take over the market due to their expensive and bulky power devices. Thus, it seems a tiny and low cost hydrogen fuel cell which promises to give the smartphone an interrupted working capacity by providing power for one week could be the one which would succeed in catching the attention of every day customers. Hopefully, Android devices too join hands with Intelligent Energy to get this awesome technology in their devices.
