Everybody loves their Smartphone but do hate if have poor battery life. We want to have access to the information of the world at our fingertips but nobody wants to constantly plug in to recharge the power. We do have power banks available but again traveling with a mobile phone and a power banks is not a feasible option.
We are at the early days of refueling products in order to gain longer performance and freedom from electric sockets and cords. Beyond powering up our devices more than 10 times than batteries, this new refueling model might set the stage for a “leapfrog” energy scenario that will bring billions of people at the age of electricity by delivering clean fuels.
Picture Courtesy: www.softtechnews.com
In January 2016, you may find viral stories on social media about a CES demonstration of iPhone holding its power for a week and images of a hydrogen-fueled drone which can fly six times longer as compared to a battery-operated version. Both the stories gave a hint of a fuel-based revolution in portable energy for our laptops and Smartphones.
Center of the excitement is the magical energy technology called the micro fuel cell. In simple terms, a fuel cell turns chemical energy into electricity and when devices require more power, we can simply add more fuel. Hence, there will be no wait time for recharging without cords. Just add clean fuel that you can find on retail shelf across the world.
Intelligent Energy which is a UK based company is behind both the breakthrough stories. Industry insiders recognize that the company is within a striking distance as a game-changer while the British company is far away to hold a household name.
Picture Courtesy: www.techx.ie
The future of refueling portable devices is more convenient for consumers and more expensive as well. Biggest question to consumer is, if they are willingness to shift from a cheap electricity option that costs under $10 to premium fuels likely to be $30-100/year.
Premium hydrogen-rich fuel cartridges would be available everywhere on retail shelves across the public places like malls and airports. As fuel devices run 6-10 times more than batteries, the requirement to refuel will be infrequent. We can imagine refueling our Smartphone once or twice a month in near future.