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Title: Forbes: The Rise of the Hydrogen Fuel Cell
Source:
Forbes.com
URL Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/billtuc ... ise-of-the-hydrogen-fuel-cell/
Published: Apr 29, 2015
Author: Bill Tucker
Post Date: 2015-05-02 16:00:03 by Operation 40
Keywords: Hydrogen, Battery, Energy
Views: 3976
Comments: 7
I carry a collapsible umbrella in my backpack in case it rains. I also carry a re-chargeable battery so that when, not if, my cell phone issues its last blinking moment of death I can revive it and remain connected. Now, imagine for a moment a device that I could carry in my backpack that would be smaller than my umbrella which could power my cell phone for a week. No, it’s not a battery. It is a hydrogen fuel cell. This is not some pointless exercise in fantasy; it is a very real product which is being sold in Apple stores and Shell stations in England.
The UPP Intelligent Energy Portable Fuel Cell
It is called UPP. UPP just won a 2015 Edison Award in the area of Energy and Sustainability. UPP is made by the company, Intelligent Energy. True to form for all technological innovation UPP is already being upped by UPP2 which is smaller and more compact while delivering the same amount of energy. And just recently, Intelligent Energy bought BIC. Yes, the same BIC of disposable lighter fame only what Intelligent Energy is planning to bring to market soon is a recyclable cartridge of hydrogen that can be used to power up a hydrogen fuel cell.
The Suzuki/Intelligent Energy Fuel Cell Zero Emission Scooter
The consumer applications of a portable power source are endless; in cities you need never look for a friendly wall socket again and if you are out on the trail hiking you have a source of power tucked away should it be needed.
This is not meant to be an ad for Intelligent Energy. I don’t own any stock in the company which trades on the London Stock Exchange. It went public last year and as this brief article from June of last year published by Green Tech Media makes clear, the stock is less exciting than the technology. Elon Musk, a man staunchly committed to the future of Solar energy is even less impressed with the prospects of the technology than he is with any possible stock price. But, Musk has his vested interests in a different direction with a huge stake in solar power and lithium-ion batteries. (I’ll come back to that in a moment) The point here is that fuel cell technology is no longer a distant, vague possibility; it’s available now in a very consumer friendly format.
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with the CEO of Intelligent Energy, Henri Winand in New York City over coffee. I left very excited about what is happening in the area of Hydrogen Fuel Cell technology. Intelligent Energy is a company with three distinct divisions. There is the Consumer Electronics division which is responsible for the products already discussed. There is the Automotive division and then there is the Distributer Power/ Power Generation division...SNIP
MORE http://www.forbes.com/sites/billtucker/2015/04/29/the-rise-of-the-hydrogen-fuel-cell/
Intelligent Energy
http://www.intelligent-energy.com/
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The UPP Intelligent Energy Portable Fuel Cell
It costs $250 and comes with one "battery", a hydrogen tank. It will recharge a smartphone 5 times. Replacement hydrogen tanks cost $9. Almost $2 to charge your smartphone. It is a 24 Wh battery.
Elon Musk, a man staunchly committed to the future of Solar energy is even less impressed with the prospects of the technology than he is with any possible stock price. But, Musk has his vested interests in a different direction with a huge stake in solar power and lithium-ion batteries.
Musk should rightly ridicule any comparison between his new 10KW home battery systems and this puny hydrogen cell charger. It doesn't even rise to the level of comparing apples and oranges.
Nice press release, fanboi.
#3. To: TooConservative (#1)
$2 buys a hell of a lot of electricity. About 20 kwh where I live; that should be enough for several hundred cellphone recharges with a wall outlet - which, last time I looked, are easier to find than hydrogen tanks.
Amortize the $250 along with it and the payback period is ...... never.
#6. To: Hank Rearden (#3)
Amortize the $250 along with it and the payback period is ...... never.
A practical man.
Still, I see uses for them. What if you want to keep your phone charged on a camping trip for a few weeks. That changes the idea of time to payback considerably.
Of course, there are already other conventional chargers capable of multiple charges. I suppose the steady reliability of a 25W device will be attractive to some. And it is being sold in Apple stores so it is a yuppie accessory and therefore the more overpriced it is, the more desirable they will find it as long as it looks like a sex toy from a Star Trek movie. Which it does. : )
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