The promise of 3G handsets
delivering high-speed Internet and streaming multimedia services may
die a fast death, figuratively and literally, if their power
supplies can't keep pace. Case in point, in July, KDDI, Japan's
second-largest mobile carrier, issued a recall of close to 600,000
handsets made by Sony because of battery pack defects. The Japanese
handset manufactured suffered losses estimated between $159-million
and $183,000-million.
With the roll out of 3G services on the horizon, highly reliable
handsets are essential for attracting a mass market. Users will
demand handsets that are lightweight, yet powerful, with a safe,
long-lasting energy source.
Worldwide, scientists in university research labs, military
research laboratories as well as private enterprises are working on
a commercially viable compact fuel cell that is environmentally
friendly and deliver five to 10 times the power of conventional
batteries for use in laptops, cell phones, and PDAs.
At the forefront of fuel cell research are Motorola Labs, located
in Temple, Arizona, and Medis Technologies, based in New York. Even
though both labs are working toward the same goal, each is taking a
different route to bring forth the optimal energy source for
portable devices.
Motorola Labs
Motorola Labs is a member of the Power and Energy Alliance
Consortium, which includes the likes of Honeywell International,
Inc., Engines and Systems, and the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. The Consortium was recently awarded an eight-year,
$49-million cooperative agreement by the U.S. Army Research
Laboratory in order to simulate scientific research, including fuel
cell research.
Motorola Labs, along with other Consortium members, are placing
fuel cell research for application in portable devices at the
forefront. Scientists at the Motorola Labs have demonstrated a
prototype of a ceramic-based microfluidic fuel delivery system for a
miniature direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). To miniaturize the DMFC
system, scientists are scaling down components. They have
successfully demonstrated the use of a multi-layer ceramic
technology for processing and delivering fuel and air to the fuel
cell membranes electrode assembly (MEA). This fuel delivery system
can be built into a miniature fuel cell.
While it will take several more years before the technology is
brought to market, the ceramic fluid-delivery technology will be
used to build an integrated 100mW DMFC system, the company says,
with the goal of five times the energy density of the conventional
Li-lon rechargeable batteries.
Medis Technologies
Medis Technologies was established in 1992 after a joint venture
with Israel Aircraft Industries. Medis’ scientists, unlike those
at Motorola Labs, work independently of any government or academic
institution.
Medis proprietary DLM (direct liquid methanol) fuel cells, which
can utilize a broad range of alcohols or mixtures of alcohols, are
at the center of its research. The company says that its fuel cells
operating on ethanol perform at the highest level of all its
methanol fuel cells. Instead of miniaturizing components, Medis
scientists have created a special architecture that allows them to
scrap proton exchange membranes, or PEMs, which are too bulky and
costly for small fuel cell applications. Scientists have developed a
proprietary liquid electrolyte that enables ethanol or methanol to
be converted directly to electricity, eliminating the need for
hydrogen and PEMs.
Medis expects to release its first ethanol-based product, a power
pack charger, by early 2003. The fuel-based charger will recharge
conventional battery-based cell phones, eliminating the conventional
wall socket plug-in method. The power pack will offer 20 hours of
recharge time before the cartridge needs replacing.
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