Hitachi to display mobile-device fuel cells at CEATEC Mobile Phones / Hitachi Posted by sar7501 on Oct 05, 2004 - 03:30 PM |
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Hitachi will display fuel cells it is currently developing for mobile devices at CEATEC JAPAN 2004, which begins 5 October 2004. Fuel cells for mobile phones, PDAs and notebook computers will be displayed. Hitachi will exhibit fuel cells it is currently developing for mobile devices at CEATEC JAPAN 2004, which begins 5 October 2004. Three types of fuel cell will be displayed: 1) a 1W(watt)-class external fuel cell for mobile phones, 2) a 2W-class internal fuel cell for PDAs and 3) a 10W-class external fuel cell for notebook computers. Working demonstrations are planned of the fuel cells for PDA and notebook computer use. The Hitachi-developed fuel cells all use an aqueous methanol solution as fuel and are of the Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) type, where power is generated directly from the methanol fuel by a chemical reaction at the electrode. In addition to being able to be re-fuelled without diluting the aqueous methanol soultion, the passive-type Hitachi fuel-cells also do not require a re-fuelling pump or a fan to disperse the CO2 emissions produced by the chemical reactions. Another feature of the fuel cells is the removeable pressurized cartridge jointly developed by Hitachi and Tokai Corporation (Location: Shibuya-ku, President: Shunichi Honma) to replenish the aqueous methanol solution. 
The 1W-class mobile phone fuel cell to be displayed is a mock-up of that to be commercialised for KDDI by March 2005 (Figure 1). The aim is to extend the operation time of mobile phones. The fuel cell outputs 200mA and 5V. One cartridge of highly concentrated aqueous methanol solution is expected to provide 5 hours of continuous operation. The fuel cell dimensions are 120mm x 70mm x 15mm; the connector and cord are stored inside the fuel-cell case.
Although KDDI's desired specification was for 10 hours continuous operation from one cartridge, "priority was given to making the fuel cell case smaller and this resulted in a 5 hour continuous operation limit," explained Hitachi (R&D Fuel Cell Project Development Head, Atsushi Morihara). Hitachi, in conjunction with KDDI, plans to develop and commercialise an internal fuel-cell for mobile phone by March 2006.
Regarding notebook computer fuel-cells, Hitachi plans to commercialise an universal-type external fuel-cell by 2007, when an international fuel-cell standard should be established. The 10W-class notebook fuel-cell to be displayed has been developed based on this concept and is a working test product. The fuel-cell is designed to attach to the back of the notebook LCD display and supplies power via a connector that is interchangeable with the AC adapter (Figure 2).
The notebook computer fuel-cell features voltage/current control circuitry to stablise any load fluctuations and produce an output that complies with notebook computer standards. As the fuel-cell is of a passive design, the output is controlled electronically and not by regulating the supply of fuel. According to Hitachi's Morihara, the fuel-cell can also be used with notebook computers from manufacturers other than Toshiba. Although dependent on negotiations, the possiblity also cannot be ruled out that the fuel-cells will go on sale before 2007.
Inspired by:
http://nikkeibp.jp/wcs/leaf/CID/onair/jp/elec/335102 [1]
Related links:
Hitachi Ltd [2]
Tokai Corporation [3]
CEATEC JAPAN 2004 [4]
Hitachi/Tokai Joint Development Announcement [5]
Search for better phone power [CNN] [6] |
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This article is from TechJapan http://www.techjapan.com/ The URL for this story is: http://www.techjapan.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=557 Links in this article [1] http://nikkeibp.jp/wcs/leaf/CID/onair/jp/elec/335102 [2] http://www.hitachi.co.jp/ [3] http://www.vesta-tokai.co.jp/ [4] http://www.ceatec.com/ja/2004/visitors/ [5] http://www.hitachi.co.jp/New/cnews/031210a.html [6] http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TECH/09/21/spark.battery/ |