Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have developed a miniature thin-film fuel cell which could provide portable electrical power for a range of consumer electronics, including mobile phones. The team believes the fuel cell will last 300 percent longer than a standard battery of the same size.
The extended life of the fuel cell could stretch standby time in a mobile phone from four days to two weeks, and talk time from six hours to two days.
Similar to a device proposed by Motorola Laboratories, the methanol-powered device uses a combination of microfluidic components and microelectromechanical systems technology.
A thin layer of electrolyte material is sandwiched between electrode materials which contain catalyst materials. Microfluidic control elements distribute the fuel mixtures through a silicon chip over one electrode surface while air is simultaneously distributed over the other electrode.
Integrated resistive heaters heat the electrolyte-electrode layers, increasing the conduction of catalytically generated protons from the fuel supply across the electrolyte to the air breathing electrode, where they combine with oxygen to generate electrical current.