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Toshiba To Show Laptop Fuel Cells at CeBit
war3rd writes "According to The Register, Toshiba has finally been able to build a fuel cell for laptops that they will unveil at CeBit next week. The fuel cells are expected to last approximately 5 hours and are compatible with existing lithium-ion batteries. Form factor remains the only issue. The trick is that they use the water by-product from the cell to dilute the methanol source as it enters the reformer, and are therefore able to store higher concentrations of methanol in the cell. My only concern is how quickly can they get this to market?"
Doc
We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality.
I RTFA, but still have a basic question - how does one recharge the battery? Will you purchase methanol packs, or just pitch the battery and get a new one? Either way, that cuts into the "environmentally friendly" bit...
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"Runs for 5 hours" under what circumstances and configuration? I'll be downright impressed if they can get five hours out of a desktop PIV running full-blast, and running those drives full-time and the 802.11 won't help. I'd be impressed if the 'smart' battery/fuel cell realy was. My "10% low battery alarm" means anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes on a 2:30 or so charge life.
It's just like a fascist dictatorship, without the punctual rail service!
As others have pointed out, 5 hours on a laptop is *nothing* The batteries on my iBook do that just fine. Sure it takes me a couple of hours to fully recharge, but that's what a second battery is for, should I need one. Also, I don't have to refill, nor throw away spent fuel cells. It sounds like manually refueling would be a pain in the arse [for a laptop]. Vehicles using fuel cells sound much more interesting
What would be interesting would be a fuel cell laptop that got maybe 24 hours on a "charge".
This just seems like gadgetry for its own sake
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Blocklevel: Practical Information Architecture
http://www.maxwell.com/ultracapacitors/ According to the above page, ultracapacitors "deliver up to 10 times the power, last up to 10 times as long, operate more reliably in high- and low-temperature conditions, require far less maintenance and reduce environmental issues associated with battery disposal" compared to batteries. I recently read about a hybrid automobile that will be using ultracaps (don't remember who). It seems like these could be implemented in laptops and cell phones.
I really don't want a contained fire on my lap. I know Lithium-ion reactions are probably just as bad, but there's just a big mental difference. Do you really want something that can run your lawnmover on an airplane? Does the airline want it on your lap, either?
"Politicians find new names for institutions which under old names have become odious to the people."
You can carry around a bunch of $2 refill packs and not need to be attached to a generator out in the middle of nowhere. Now there's convenience. You can also recharge your power source in a minute or two.
This is important for other uses like a prospective Segway using these things. Right now you run out of juice, it's time to get tethered to a wall socket but with this you just fill it up and go further.
Water vapour is also a greenhouse gas. More importantly, by burning hydrogen we lose oxygen from the air rather permanently. Unless of course we generate the hydrogen from water by electricity, in which case the hydrogen only acts as a cumbersome and expensive battery.
Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
So, what makes carrying a small AA battery-sized container of methanol any different than carrying a butane lighter onto an airplane? I don't see one. Not to mention all the other flammable products carried in small quantities on airplanes in cosmetics and toiletries.
As for the waste/disposal issue, the reason fuel cells are considered advantageous is that both production and disposal is cleaner, not containing toxic chemical compounds. The cartridges could easily be recycled into new cartridges...maybe even someday like inkjet printer cartridges.
As for the runtime on a single charge, that is certain to improve over time. The point is that they get new technology in the marketplace.
A fuel cell IS a battery. It is a refillable battery. One of the biggest anoyances of rechargable batteries is how long they take to recharge. That is the reason (well, one of them) that electric cars have never become popular. If you run out of juice, they take HOURS to recharge.
With laptops, this problem is not so bad. You can use a laptop while it is recharging, and most places you would want to use a laptop, you will be within range of a plug anyway. Still, there are times when I would like to be able to run unteathered for long periods of time. So whenever the fuel cell gets low, you just add some more methanol and in seconds, you're good to go for another 5 hours.
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The internet is the greatest source of biased information in the history of mankind.
BTW, before anyone questions "why don't I use a go-ped like engine" - noise is the main reason, laws are another (as in legal grey area).
Reason is the Path to God - Anon