Fuel Cells in 2009 will double the capacity of regular Li-ion Batteries

Fuel Cells in 2009 will double the capacity of regular Li-ion Batteries. Peng Lim, CEO of MTI Micro confidently said that by 2009 we'll see the first products based on fuel cell technology hitting the market. The company's goal is to start displacing lithium ion batteries with fuel cells in portable electronics. Expect capacities to be double that of similar size lithium ion batteries, with the most notable advantage being a recharge is as simply as squirting a liquid into a cartridge.

"Methanol is the most energetic of the materials with the least amount of trouble for making a product," says George Relan, vice president of corporate development at MTI. "You don't have to pressurize it, store it in cold temperatures, or make a powder of it--like you need with hydrogen--which you then have to mix with water to get a reaction. Methanol contains 5,000 watt hour energy per liter."

The fuel cells emit carbon dioxide, but in such a low amount that it is practically 0 output compared to the fumes given off by electricity plants that power the grid (Lithium ion batteries need grid electricity). Methanol is made from natural gas, a fossil fuel. And interestingly, the lifetime will be the same.

(source)