FSN: New generation fuel cells set to replace rechargeable batteries in laptop computers

New generation fuel cells set to replace rechargeable batteries in laptop computers

2nd July 2007
Laptop computers could soon be powered by an ultra compact, highly efficient patented alternative to rechargeable batteries, developed by a UK company, Cambridge-based CMR Fuel Cells plc. Instead of having to switch their laptop off and find somewhere to plug it into a power supply to recharge the battery, users will be able to carry on working. When the tiny cartridge of methanol fuel runs out, they will simply slot another one into the onboard fuel cell unit – just like putting a refill in a pen.

CMR engineers are working on prototypes that promise to be much smaller, lighter, cheaper and more efficient than conventional fuel cells or today's lithium ion batteries. The company has collaborative agreements to adapt the technology for major PC and laptop manufacturers in Korea and Japan . CMR is also part of a working group formed by Intel that is specifying this next generation of portable power sources and they expect their technology to become available in mass market products from 2010.

In coming up with a design that hadn't previously been thought of, CMR's founders trawled through 20,000 patents and academic papers – some dating back over half a century. Working with Cambridge-based Nash Matthews and other firms of patent attorneys in the USA and the UK , CMR is now prosecuting a portfolio of its own patents which will give it exclusive rights to its novel technology in the company's priority markets, globally.

Michael Priestnall, now CMR's Chief Technology Officer, came up with the idea for a better, small fuel cell as a result of explaining to his colleague, Mike Evans, at Cambridge consultancy Sagentia (then called Scientific Generics) why fuel cells had to be so bulky. “It wasn't so much a eureka moment as a eureka week or two,” Michael explains. “Over a coffee, I'd been answering Mike's question about the differences between car engines and fuel cells, and why the fuel cell principle depended on keeping the fuel intake totally separate from the oxidant intake. It occurred to me that if you could find an alternative to the normal catalyst – platinum, which is used on both sides of a fuel cell – you could select a specific catalyst for each of the anode and cathode of the fuel cell, and that would mean you would no longer need to keep the fuel and air separate.”

Michael then set about investigating the feasibility of his idea. His first task was to check that it really was new. His trawl of 20,000 patents and other records narrowed the field down to some 35 patents and papers that merited further investigation. From this, it appeared that there was a real opportunity to come up with something new and also – critically important – achieve patent protection for it.

“We needed to be very confident about our IP position,” Michael Priestnall explains. “Our patents are very fundamental in the fuel cells market. We now have patents granted in China and Australia and expect to have them soon in the USA and, eventually, Europe . Our patent attorneys are experts and we work closely with them to achieve the protection we need, without it costing the earth.”

Although laptop computers will be the first mass-market application for CMR's compact fuel cells, many other potential customers are also interested in low cost fuel cells that can operate on high energy fuels. According to Martin Lipscombe, patent attorney at Nash Matthews, CMR's strong IP position will allow them to exploit other markets and use fuels other than methanol. “The core concepts that CMR have patented can apply to any fuel cell. If CMR don't want to enter other markets themselves at this stage, they have the potential to generate good revenue streams from licensing their technology to other manufacturers who may be targeting applications such as mobile phones, standby power units or even automotive – electric scooters, for example.”

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