| Guidelines issued for mobile PC fuel cells |
Jun. 23, 2005
The Mobile PC Extended Battery Life Working Group has published a document that formalizes guidelines for powering mobile PCs from fuel cells. The guidelines cover "internal" fuel cells, as well as "external" ones that emulate AC adaptors, for example those used as secondary batteries in PC media bays. The document addresses electrical, mechanical, control, thermal, environmental, and regulatory issues, according to the Working Group.
"As the mobile PC power sources industry focuses on providing solutions for all-day computing and beyond, alternative solutions such as fuel cells will gain increasing importance," explained Kamal Shah, manager of Intel's Mobility Enabling Initiative, Mobile Platforms Group and chairman of the Mobile PC Extended Battery Life Working Group. "This document guides fuel cell developers on what it takes to design fuel cells for all-day computing for mobile PCs."
The Working Group characterizes today's mobile PC fuel cell technology as follows:
Fuel cell technology promises to power mobile PCs for full working days and longer, freeing users from the need to search for power outlets to charge batteries. Instant refueling with cartridges could extend run time almost indefinitely.
Fuel cells operate differently than a battery. Instead of storing and releasing charge, a fuel cell provides a steady supply of power generated from a fuel. The power consumed by notebooks is very uneven, driven by bursts of computing, spinning up of disk drives, and other such transient events. While the stored charge of batteries can easily match this varying demand, the steady power output generated by fuel cells needs careful management of the fuel cell system to match it to such variable power demands.
At the heart of a fuel cell system is the fuel cell itself, surrounded by support components. Like a car engine, many fuel cell systems need a fuel pump, cooling, support electronics and a starter battery. A full system, in fact, will often be like the power system in a hybrid vehicle, with the engine (fuel cell) and a battery sharing the power demands. In total, it can be a complex system.
There are currently more than 60 organizations working on Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) technology for portable power applications, according to Jim Balcom, president and CEO of PolyFuel, an SRI-spinout specializing in fuel cell technologies for portable and automotive applications.
"Fuel Cell Guidelines for Mobile PCs" is available from the Extended Battery Life Working Group.
(Click here for further information)
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