In this case: never mind the talk about Hydrogen. What is being proposed here is methanol power. Notice how there's no talk of ethanol or some other chemical more widely available. Perhaps this is because they're not as often manufactured by the Petroleum Industry. Medis (as covered in evworld.com a couple of years ago) can provide an ethanol powered microfuel cell that can run off of alcohol purchased at most any store (with modification perhaps), if the powers-that-be would get behind it. But instead of mentioning this, this article focuses on the supposed difficulty of buying methanol for the average consumer. Methanol is presently largely made from Natural Gas, from what I understand, though I reckon it could be made from more-renewable sources, going forward.
If it's true that phones and laptops have been powered by batteries such as NiMH, Li-Ion, Li-Poly (?) and Ni-Cad, and if it's true that those batteries have also been the focus of most vehicular-battery-efforts, then I wonder what the consequences will be of these micro fuel cell efforts? Perhaps the competition to develop fuel cell powered small devices will lead to progress in developing fuel cells for larger devices, such as cars. On Wed, 9 Jul 2003 14:36:38 -0700 (PDT), Green Bean <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Fuel cells may power cell phones, laptops By MICHELLE KESSLER USA TODAY published: 7/8/2003 Fuel cell technology meant to replace gasoline in cars might first find a home in laptops and cell phones - more than doubling battery life. NEC, Motorola, Toshiba and others are designing fuel cells to power laptops for five hours or more - compared with two or three for conventional batteries. They also could work for cell phones and personal digital assistants, or PDAs. Several prototypes, including a fuel cell-powered laptop from NEC, have been recently unveiled. Early versions of fuel cell tech products could be sold next year, most likely in Japan, the companies say. It will be several years before they are widely available in the USA - and are easy to use, experts say. Battery life often holds tech products back, and fuel cells could provide a boost. Some screens on cell phones and PDAs, for example, are purposely made dim to conserve power. Scientists have already squeezed about 90 percent of the improvements they can from today's batteries, although they're working on breakthroughs, says Donald Sadoway, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology engineering professor. Fuel cells are like tiny engines that generate power through chemical reactions. If you need more power, you put in more "gas" - in most cases, a mixture of methanol, or wood alcohol, and other chemicals. The methanol will likely be housed in a replaceable cartridge, much as printer ink is. The technology, around for more than a decade, has yet to take off because it is: ð Expensive. Most fuel cells use platinum and other pricey materials. A fuel cell powerful enough to run a car costs $300,000, says Elton Cairns, a University of California, Berkeley, engineering professor. Automakers say they'll build an affordable fuel cell-powered car by 2010. Because a laptop uses much less power, cost is less prohibitive. Start-up Neah Power Systems says, within several years, laptop fuel cells will wholesale for about $75 - same as today's batteries. ð Hard-to-find fuel. Fuel cell companies have a vexing chicken-or-egg problem. No one wants to sell fuel until there's demand, and there won't be demand until fuel is widely available. "You can't just go to the hardware store and buy (methanol) cartridges," says John Goodman, an executive with fuel cell component maker Entegris. Companies are working on supply plans. Goodman says someday you'll buy fuel canisters on the same racks as AA batteries. ð Flammable. Airlines are unlikely to allow passengers to carry methanol canisters because of fire dangers, researchers say. That would be a big blow, because laptops are frequently used by business travelers. Companies developing them say the fuel is no more dangerous than liquor and perfume. They are working with airlines and government agencies to overcome concerns. ===== Û¼¡`¡¼Û¿,üü,¿Û¼¡`¡¼Û¿Û¼¡`¡¼Û¿,üü,¿Û¼¡`¡¼Û¿ All-Energy News and Discussion http://groups.yahoo.com/group/All-Energy Û¼¡`¡¼Û¿,üü,¿Û¼¡`¡¼Û¿Û¼¡`¡¼Û¿,üü,¿Û¼¡`¡¼Û¿ __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com ========================================================== THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING IN THE RENEWABLE ENERGY LIST. ---------------------------------------------------------- . Please feel free to send your input to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] . Join the list by sending a blank e-mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] . To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] . To view previous messages from the list, subscribe to a daily digest of the list, or stop receiving the list by e-mail (and read it on the Web), go to http://www.yahoogroups.com/list/renewable-energy . . This e-mail discussion list is managed by the American Wind Energy Association: http://www.awea.org ---------------------------------------------------------- Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for Your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at Myinks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/sOykFB/k9VGAA/ySSFAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/