Micro Fuel Cells vs
Rechargeable Batteries

Digital devices are growing by leaps
and bounds.So much so that computing
is moving from desk to the
pocket.As long as it remained on the desk,
the issue of powering it wasn’t an issue, as it
used standard utility power.But with its
move to the pocket,power has become a
major concern.How many times has it
happened that you’re attending an important
phone call on your cellphone, and its
battery conks off? Or you’re not able to use
your digital camera on your camping trip
because the battery drained out? You’re finishing
your presentation while waiting for
your flight when the notebook’s battery
died.We’ve all faced one such situation at
one time or the other.Currently, lithium ion
or lithium polymer-based batteries are being
used to power these mobile devices,
and are proving to be insufficient.That’s
why an alternative power source, called micro
fuel cells or MFCs, is being developed.

Let’s look at where it’s reached,whether it’ll
be able to actually replace conventional
batteries, and if yes,by when?
Conventional lithium ion or polymerbased
batteries have been in the market for
a long time now. In fact, they first became a
commercial reality way back in 1991,and
the credit for it goes to Sony.Since then, the
technology behind these batteries has seen
some development. They’ve become more
compact, lightweight and efficient. This development,
however, is not sufficient to
keep up with the pace of innovation in the
mobile computing space.Portable devices
are becoming more powerful and, therefore,
more power hungry, staying right on
track with the Moore’s law that states that
the computing power doubles every 18
months.Does this indicate that the conventional
rechargeable batteries are nearing
their end? If all the noise about micro fuel
cells is true, then it might just happen.
Micro fuel cells use chemical reaction
to produce energy.While there are many
different types of fuel cells, the ones that
are slated to replace lithium ion batteries
are the Direct Methanol Fuel Cells,or DMFCs.


These combine methanol,water and
air to produce electricity.Their benefits are
plenty.For one,DMFCs offer a far higher
energy potential, resulting in much longer
battery life (as much as ten times) over the
conventional batteries. They’re more environment-
friendly with water and heat being
their byproducts.Moreover, to recharge
them,you don’t need to hunt for a power
outlet,nor do you need to carry a separate
power adapter with you. Instead, simply replacing
or refilling the methanol cartridge
does the job.So basically, fuel cell powered
devices are completely free from AC power.
Fuel cells are also free from the potential
hazards that exist in the conventional batteries.
For instance, a conventional battery
can get damaged if there’s a short circuit in
the load,overload or if it gets over charged.
Worse still, it can even damage the device
it’s powering. In case of fuel cells,none of
these conditions will matter,because they
don’t ‘store’but ‘generate’ energy through a
chemical reaction.So while batteries loose
energy over time,fuel cells don’t.
DMFCs are capable of providing up to
60 Volts,which is enough to power various
portable computing devices.The major
market for these will be the portables that
require rechargeable batteries, such as
pagers, cellphones,video recorders,camcorders,
PDAs,notebooks and even
portable power tools such as drills, saws
and vacuum cleaners.Now the focus is on
miniaturizing them to fit into devices like
hearing aids, smoke detectors,burglar
alarms,hotel locks and meter readers.
Well, all this doesn’t mean that there is
no flip side to fuel cells. It has a critical negative
aspect that has nothing to do with
technology,but legalities.There are issues
with carrying fuel cells on airplanes and
other public transport systems, since they
contain hydrogen,methanol, etc.Currently,
everybody’s trying to build their own proprietary
fuel cells.This will lead to nonstandardization
of equipment,which is
not healthy.
So standards will have to be worked out
for fuel-cell cartridges to make them compatible.
It shouldn’t happen that a fuel-cell
cartridge from Hitachi doesn’t fit into a
fuel-cell from NEC.Since fuel-cell based
devices will be completely free of AC power,
fuel cell cartridges will have to be made
readily available everywhere, just like a
pack of dry cells.So whichever company
introduces MFCs, it has to have a proper
sales and distribution network in place.
Lastly, the fuel cells will have to hit the
market at same price point as conventional
batteries.
Many fuel cell prototypes have already
been introduced, but currently,
hardly any MFC-based portable computing
devices are available commercially.
Market research shows that these products
will gain mass-market acceptance
only by 2008, and by 2013, it will be an
$11 billion market.Given the slow pace of
development in conventional batteries,
it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to compete
with fuel cells by then. So until then,
enjoy using conventional batteries!