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Exotic molecules like carbon buckyballs, a relatively new hydrogen fuel cell technology, may soon become part of our everyday lives if the latest prototype fuel cell from Sony ever makes it to the high street.
The six-cell system Sony recently showed at the Small Fuel Cells 2008 exhibition in
Atlanta
has at its core an electrolyte membrane based on buckminsterfullerene (to give them their proper name) and a platinum catalyst.
More Energy For Longer:
While the science probably matters little to the man in the street, what rings bells is the ability of the latest prototype to generate three times more energy than its 2005 predecessor.
The 5 x 3 x 2 cm unit goes to work on a single millilitre of methanol, producing 1.1 watt hours of energy from the fuel. In its demonstration Sony used 10ml of the volatile liquid to power a mobile phone with a TV tuner running for 14 hours.
Better still, in combination with a lithium-polymer rechargeable battery, the tiny device can produce a steady 3W output by alternating supplying power when it's needed most with charging the battery during periods of lower energy demand.
Whenever the buckyball system does make it to market, Sony claims it will be very small. They are expected to be inside phones, rather than attached to them as in the demo.
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