Get Ready for Water-Powered Cell Phones

[Pete Paxton]

<em>&quot;Samsung Electro-Mechanics has developed a micro-fuel cell and hydrogen generator that runs on water, writes the Chosun Ilbo. Oh Yong-soo, vice president of Samsung Electro-Mechanics' research centre, who said that when the handset is turned on, metal and water in the phone react to produce hydrogen gas. The gas is then supplied to the fuel cell where it reacts with oxygen in the air to generate power. Other fuel cells need methanol to produce hydrogen, while Samsung's needs only water. Since the micro-fuel cell can generate up to three watts of electricity, it could be used in mobile devices. The new fuel cell could power a handset for ten hours, twice as long as rechargeable batteries. Oh Yong-soo said water-powered handsets are expected to hit the market by 2010.&quot;<br /><br /></em><img border="1" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/500/spt/auto/1208832801.usr11642.jpg" alt="" /><br /><br />I've always been a bit of a skeptic. This is one of those &quot;I'll believe it when I see it&quot; stories. Think it'll really happen? When you're in the mall you can get a drink from the drinking fountain and charge your phone at the same time? Maybe in the summer when your power's getting low, you can just take a dip in the pool and poof! - you're all charged up! I wonder if eventually it can be used for laptops too. I'll be sure and update this story in 2010 and see where we're at.

[sofene]

You may not have to wait till 2010. There are already water fuel cell kits for cars that are claimed to cut your fuel bill by up to 75% available on online retail outlets and auction sites and these are not scams. It's only a matter of time before it finds its way down to laptops and cellphones.

[JKingGrim]

You put in water.. It gets spilt into hydrogen and oxygen by reacting with the metal.. Then they react and produce water.. Then you have to add more water? I'm missing something.. Where is the energy to split the water comming from? Wouldn't it be the metal catalyst that needs to be "recharged"/replaced?

[virain]

Great! We are running out of oil, now we will run out of water! :)

[MAC-NHA]

The Hydrogen Education Foundation is excited about the Samsung's progress working with fuel cell technology. In fact, Samsung is not the only cell phone company working with fuel cells; Motorola is collaborating with Angstrom Power to produce their version of a hydrogen-powered cell phone: http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/online/news/articles/2008-01/Angstrom-fuel-cell-successfully-integrated (http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/online/news/articles/2008-01/Angstrom-fuel-cell-successfully-integrated.). Angstrom Power, along with other micro fuel cell companies, are developing products the will soon be on market including flashlights, radios, and other lower power equipment.<o></o>
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Because fuel cells don't corrode like traditional batteries, they are better for the environment. Fuel cells do not need to be recharged, but instead refueled. There is no need to throw out the fuel cell when the power runs out, you simply refuel it in a matter of seconds; as opposed to batteries which you either throw away or have to wait hours to recharge. So, if a fuel cell uses water as a source for hydrogen-power as many do, then refueling is as simple as having access to a kitchen sink.
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To learn more about the benefits of hydrogen, we invite everyone to please visit www.h2andyou.org (http://www.h2andyou.org).<o></o><o>
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[JKingGrim]

You put in water, and get out water + energy? Unless there is some kind of nuclear reaction (which there isn't) it doesn't make sense. Has anyone found an explanation for how they work?

*edit* This is pretty much what I expected. The title to this article is misleading. Water is not fueling the phone. The enery is stored in the metal which eventually gets exhausted.
In this case, the "fuel cell" is really a battery. The water combines with an unspecified metal inside the cell, liberating hydrogen in the process, and oxidizing the metal. The hydrogen then runs the fuel cell. When the metal is exhausted, the battery stops working. A LOT of energy went into making the reactive metal- and the net energy value of this fuel cell is low.

[Rob Alexander]

You put in water, and get out water + energy? Unless there is some kind of nuclear reaction (which there isn't) it doesn't make sense. Has anyone found an explanation for how they work?

*edit* This is pretty much what I expected. The title to this article is misleading. Water is not fueling the phone. The enery is stored in the metal which eventually gets exhausted.

Yes, you're right... that had to be the case. It takes significantly more energy to split the H2 from the O in water than you get back from the fuel cell. Unless we are to believe in perpetual motion or cold fusion, there must be an energy source to drive the process. Still, very clever to store the energy in that reactive metal. If it has a decent life span (a couple of years would be good), then it could be practical.