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Mercedes-Benz's F-CELL Roadster is chock-full of win
Mercedes-Benz has been toying with alternative-energy prototype vehicles for awhile now, but we're fairly certain this little gem is amongst the most bodacious. The obviously conceptual F-CELL Roadster hearkens back to M-B vehicles of old, though the engine is far from retro. Controlled with drive-by-wire technology and utilizing a joystick rather than a conventional steering wheel, this whip is (theoretically, at least) powered by a 1.2kW emission-free fuel cell system located at the rear. We're told that it could reach an enviable top speed of 15.5mph, and the 217 mile operating range definitely has us salivating. Frankly, this one's all about the design, and we can't implore you enough to give the read link a visit for lots more high-res action.
Toshiba misses another consumer fuel-cell launch date as expected
It's the end of March and you know what that means? No Toshiba fuel cell battery charger for you, that's what. Toshiba's launch of the first direct methanol fuel cell-based (DMFC) charger for your miscellaneous gadgets has been delayed "a few months" due to problems in acquiring unspecified components. Why do we care? Easy, DMFCs produce electricity via chemical reaction between methanol, water, and air. When the power runs out you just top-off the methanol or drop in a new cartridge and you're good to go. Also, this DMFC charger is just the first step towards DMFC batteries for cellphones and laptops that Toshiba says are still on track to launch before the end of March 2010. Not that we'd be surprised by further delay -- we've been hanging on to the promise of fuel-cell battery launches for years now... what's another slip.
Sony shows off its latest fuel cells and cola-powered batteries
In two days the world's largest fuel cell exhibition, FC EXPO 2009, kicks off in Tokyo, and Sony will be there showing off the latest revision of its hybrid fuel cell technology. The system contains both a methanol fuel cell and a Li-on battery, enabling it to intelligently switch between power from the battery, fuel, or even both under high-draw circumstances. Sony will have two sizes on display: a portable model (above, with real leatherette lanyard) that could keep you talking on your celly for a week, and a heftier "interior" model that could do the same for a month. The company's even attached a bottle of methanol to a wireless speaker, resulting in infinite placement possibilities and a groovy light show to boot. If that weren't enough, the company will be demonstrating an updated, more efficient version of its sugar battery, which can be powered by plain 'ol Coca-Cola -- and you thought that stuff was only good for making your nephews run.
Toshiba plans to release fuel cell-based battery charger by end of March
Toshiba's finally ready to enter the fuel cell market, or at least it's saying as much. The company announced this week that it'll release a direct methanol fuel cell-based (DMFC) battery charger this fiscal quarter, before the end of March. Toshiba also said it'll launch DMFC packs for cellphones and laptops in the following fiscal year that begins in April. Details are pretty scant at the moment, and given the technology's past track record, we wouldn't be surprised if it missed the upcoming deadline. Here's hoping our skepticism is unfounded.
World's smallest working fuel cell has high potential, low voltage
University of Illinois researchers have developed what they claim is the world's smallest working fuel cell, and it's certainly a good bit tinier than anything we've seen. The itty-bitty battery measures 3 mm x 3 mm x 1 mm and is comprised of just four layers: a water reservoir, a thin membrane, a chamber of metal hydride, and an assembly of electrodes. It can produce 0.7 volts and a 0.1 milliamp current for about 30 hours, with a newer model boasting similar voltage and 1 milliamp of current. That's not gonna juice your BlackBerry anytime soon, but scientists suggest it could be used for simple electronics and microbots. As for future application, we're hoping one day can power a fingernail-sized smartphone.[Via Register Hardware]
Engadget's new double-wide HQ rolls in to Vegas
Oh hells yes. We've arrived at CES in full nerd style. We sent Moms to Atlantic City so us kids could hijack the trailer all the way to Vegas baby, Las Vegas. And in true Kojak style we parked right in front of the central hall just outside the Las Vegas Convention Center. What better base to provide the best CES 2009 coverage on the Net? Check our first pass on the show floor after the break. With roots now planted and enough gadgets to keep us busy 7 by 24... we may never go home.
MTI Micro shows off universal fuel cell charger with removable cartridge
As you may or may not have noticed, the folks at MTI Micro seem to be plenty convinced that fuel cells will eventually power all manner of devices, and they're now taking things one step further with their new Mobion universal fuel cell charger that, yes, promises to provide power to any device in the entire universe (with a USB port). To add a bit more practicality to the equation, the charger makes use of removable (and disposable) cartridges, which each provide 25 watt-hours of power, or roughly enough to fully charge the average cellphone more than ten times. While it's only in prototype form at the moment, the company says that the final product should be available by the end of 2009, although it's not making any promises about a price just yet.[Via Planetary Gear]
Honda's FC Sport fuel-cell hybrid debuts in a puff of conceptual smoke
If the Tesla Roadster has proven anything other than the disruptive effects of a hyper-inflated ego, it's that well designed eco-vehicles will sell... at any price. Yet the general design theme amongst hybrid builders appears to be your grandfather's loafer. Honda too, just look at the FCX Clarity. So we're pretty stoked to see Honda roll out its FC Sport concept three-seater (driver front-and-center) at the LA Auto Show using the same V-Flow fuel cell stack and electric drivetrain found in the FCX Clarity. Only thing is, it's a non-functional concept with little hope of hitting the market anytime soon if history serves. Good news for GM but bad news for consumers. As a wise man of consumer electronics once said: "You know how you see a show car, and it's really cool, and then four years later you see the production car, and it sucks? And you go, What happened? They had it! They had it in the palm of their hands! They grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory! What happened was, the designers came up with this really great idea. Then they take it to the engineers, and the engineers go, 'Nah, we can't do that. That's impossible.' And so it gets a lot worse. Then they take it to the manufacturing people, and they go, 'We can't build that!' And it gets a lot worse." Or to paraphrase: It's like asking for a Big Mac and getting a fish sandwich.Read -- Parable of the Concept Car Read -- FC Sport
Panasonic talks up 2012's hottest fuel cell tech
Alas, here we are, 2008 drawing quickly to a close, and yet we still live in a world where the only viable portable fuel cell system is available exclusively to the US Army (unless you can make due with one lowly watt). Panasonic says we have another four years to wait, planning for a 2012 releasing of device powerful enough to run a notebook yet small enough to fit inside a battery compartment. The company estimates up to 5 hours of power could be had from 50cc of "highly concentrated" methanol, and of course you'd always be just a squirt away from a full charge -- the same sort of promises we've heard again and again about this tech. Four years may seem like a long way off, but it's surely more realistic than the release dates we've seen on some earlier prototypes. Update: A few 200cc, 20-hour prototypes displayed after the break.[Warning: reg required on read link]
M-25 portable fuel cell takes home $1 million Pentagon prize
Unfortunately for you budding energy stars out there, the Pentagon's latest contest is over, so you've no choice here but to grit your teeth and applaud both DuPont and Germany's Smart Fuel Cell. Out of the 170 teams vying for the $1 million prize, these two managed to impress the most; the winning gizmo was the M-25 portable power system, which is already being sold to the US Army for "limited use in the field." Contestants were tasked with creating a new wearable power solution to juice up energy-hungry military gear (GPS units, night-vision goggles, head-mounted PMPs, etc.) without weighing soldiers down, and the winning device combined "DuPont's direct-methanol fuel cell technology with SFC's fuel cell and battery system." Yeah, we're totally expecting a PSP / DS compatible version of this before the holidays.[Via FuelCellWorks, thanks Adam]
Toshiba powers cell phone with methanol fuel cell -- no, you can't have one
Toshiba continues to tease us with its prototype liquid fuel cell-powered gadgets: last year it was a Gigabeat media player, and at this year's CEATEC you can check out a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) that's been crammed inside a cell phone, lending it a robust six hours of talk time (compared to the paltry three or four hours of a traditional battery). Toshiba won't reveal the capacity of the DMFC, but they have said that a 50ml cartridge is good for about 15 refills. No release date yet, but the phone "might" be available "as early as next year." In the meantime, enjoy this picture of a woman holding a flip phone with "DMFC" clearly visible on the display.
Medis 24-7 Power Pack fuel cell tested and reviewed: not too shabby
We know what you're thinking: "I'm totally not going to buy this." After all, who really wants a kludgy recharger that isn't reusable without buying an extra fill pack? For those still willing to give this idea a chance, you may want to point your attention to smartplanet's review of the Medis 24-7 Power Pack, which utilizes liquid fuel cell technology to output one-watt for charging small handheld devices. In testing, it took around an hour to bring a halfway charged iPod touch to full capacity, which is pretty much right in line with estimates. Unfortunately, we're still not digging the "recycle or refill" approach, though we are appreciative that Medis is pushing the former. Give the linked writeup a look -- maybe you'll fall strangely in love, after all.
Horizon intros Bio Energy Discovery Kit for some fuel cell education
Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies certainly has plenty more ambitious fuel cell products in the works, but it looks like it's not leaving any potential opportunity to make itself known untapped, with it now introducing the education-minded Bio Energy Discovery Kit to spread the fuel cell word to students and educators alike. According to the company, the kit is actually the "fuel cell industry's first direct ethanol product," which means it's able to take plain water and any household alcohol (like diluted vodka) and, in this case, provide enough power to run a fan non-stop for days on end. That wonder of science doesn't exactly come cheap, however, with the kit running a full $100.[Via Blast]
Medis 24-7 Power Pack fuel cell available online now, at Best Buy soon
Medis has been making promises about its portable fuel cell for the masses since way back in 2005, but it looks like it's now finally actually available online, and will soon be available at a Best Buy possibly near you (if it isn't already). $30 will get you the basic starter kit, which includes the PowerPack itself, a power cable, a standard mini USB connector, and connectors for LG, Palm Treo, and "New Nokia" phones. According to Medis, a single PowerPack will provide enough juice for about 30 hours of talk time, or 60 to 80 hours of playback from your MP3 player, after which you'll have to ditch (and recycle) the pack and get a replacement for $20. If that sounds like the solution you've been waiting for, you can hit up the link below and get your order in.
Canon patents fuel cell DSLR, we're ready
Back in May, we heard that MTI Micro was working with "an elusive Japanese developer or digicams" to get its Mobion fuel cell tech into actual products. Given this Canon Fuel Cell DSLR patent, it looks like we can no-so elusively safely say where the camera is being developed. The patent itself is straight up enough: "The present invention related to an electronic equipment system having fuel cells, and more particularly, to a camera system in which fuel cells are provided to a camera body and a connection device connected to the camera body." It looks as though the fuel cells will power the entire camera system, including flashes and other motors, complete with a separate power management system, sort of like having your own mini generator. As for when this system will be available, no word.[Via Photographybay]
Video: MIT develops solar storage "nirvana": energy crisis solved?
MIT is in a twisted, propeller-capped knot this morning heralding a new discovery it says will unleash a solar revolution. However, the "revolutionary leap" inspired by photosynthesis is not on the glamorous front-end of energy collection, rather, it's related to a simple, highly efficient and inexpensive way to store that energy when the sun doesn't shine. "This is the nirvana of what we've been talking about for years," says Daniel Nocera, MIT neomaxizoomdweebie who with Matthew Kanan developed the unprecedented approach to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases using the sun's energy. The gases can then be recombined later inside a fuel cell. The key components to the process are a pair of catalysts (one consists of cobalt metal, phosphate, and an electrode; the other, platinum) which produce the O and H gases at room temperature and in neutral pH water (i.e., tap water). While similar solutions exist for industrial use (primarily), these are very expensive and require specialized environments. "This is a major discovery with enormous implications for the future prosperity of humankind," said James Barber, a leader in the study of photosynthesis at Imperial College in London. "The importance of their discovery cannot be overstated since it opens up the door for developing new technologies for energy production thus reducing our dependence for fossil fuels and addressing the global climate change problem." Nocera concedes that further engineering is required to commercialize the approach but hopes to see it implemented in household fuel cell systems within the next 10 years. Click through for the video breakdown.
MTI Micro, NeoSolar to tinker with fuel cell-powered UMPCs
We'll be mighty pleased when MTI Micro gets off its high horse and actually delivers something to the consumer electronics realm, but for now, we're being forced to inhale even more fluff as we wait for an end product. The latest outfit to dive into a partnership with MTI is NeoSolar, as the two gleefully set off to develop Mobion fuel cell technology for use in future NeoSolar devices (namely UMPCs). As we've heard so many times over now, these two will be working together to "develop, test, and evaluate" prototypes, but we'll be lucky to see a fuel cell-powered WiBrain before 2020. Prove us wrong, pretty please.[Via CNET]
Honda FCX Clarity set to enter limited production and sale
If you're in the market for a fuel efficient car, but you've been holding out for something a little more advanced than the Prius -- your dreams may have just been answered. Honda announced today that it would begin producing limited quantities of its FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles for sale in the US and Japan over the next few years. According to the automaker, it plans to offer around 200 of the zero-emission cars in the next three years, with a few dozen models expected on the road this year leased at around $600 a month. Said John Mendel, a senior vice president at Honda, "It's an especially significant day for American Honda as we plant firm footsteps toward the mainstreaming of fuel cell cars." Now all they have to do is get more than 3 fueling stations out there and we'll be all set.Read - Honda rolls out fuel cell carRead - Honda starts producing next-generation fuel cell car
Genepax shows off water-powered fuel cell vehicle
We've seen plenty of promises about water-powered cars (among other things), but it looks like Japan's Genepax has now made some real progress on that front, with it recently taking the wraps off its Water Energy System fuel cell prototype. The key to that system, it seems, is its membrane electrode assembly (or MEA), which contains a material that's capable of breaking down water into hydrogen and oxygen through a chemical reaction. Not surprisingly, the company isn't getting much more specific than that, with it only saying that it's adopted a "well-known process to produce hydrogen from water to the MEA." Currently, that system costs on the order of ¥2,000,000 (or about $18,700 -- not including the car), but company says that if it can get it into mass production that could be cut to ¥500,000 or less (or just under $5,000). Head on past the break for a video of car in action courtesy of Reuters.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Angstrom Power shows off G2 portable fuel cell power source
It looks like Angstrom Power is working on more than just fuel cells for MOTOSLVR L7 prototypes, with the company now also touting its G2 portable fuel cell power source that promises to keep a whole range of gadgets charged up. This one packs eight V60 Fuel Cell Modules that combine to provide a full two watts of power, which can be used to top off any device that charges via a USB connection. According to Angstrom, the G2 itself can also be replenished "in minutes," either by using an Angstrom P2 Portable Refueling Cartridge or an R1 Refueling Station, though it can apparently withstand "several charges" before it needs to be refueled. No word on pricing or availability just yet, but it seems safe to bet that it'll show up before those fuel cell-powered cellphones, which are apparently still on track for a release somewhere in the neighborhood of 2010.[Via Gizmo Watch]
