Science

I read this press release and found it interesting so I though I’d post it here. It’s currently only available for retailers and distributors but I’m curious about the price for us consumers in the end. Seems like a very intersting option for many usable areas.

[Press release, February 11, Stockholm]

PowerTrekk is a fuel cell driven power source for mobile phones and other electronic equipment. Unlike other portable chargers, PowerTrekk provides instant and reliable power anywhere, making it ideal for outdoor enthusiasts and business users in emerging markets.

PowerTrekk is a pocket size, lightweight charger for users who spend time away from the electricity grid. Providing instant power anywhere, PowerTrekk uses advanced fuel cell technology which cleanly and efficiently converts hydrogen into electricity. With its rugged, waterproof casing and robust technology on the inside, PowerTrekk is designed to match demanding requirements.

PowerTrekk is a 2-in-1 solution that is both a portable battery pack and fuel cell. The portable battery pack can be operated on its own as a ready source of power or storage buffer for the fuel cell. The fuel cell enables instant charging from a depleted battery state without ever needing a wall charge. Users simply insert a fuel pack and add water. To charge portable devices – for example mobile phones, cameras and GPS devices – users connect a device to Power Trekk via a USB port. “PowerTrekk has a competitive edge over traditional portable chargers. Fuel cell power is generated immediately and charging is not impacted by weather or the position of the sun, as for solar panels. Compared to battery powered travel chargers, PowerTrekk offers reliable charging as the fuel packs do not deplete as batteries do,” said Björn Westerholm, CEO at myFC, the company behind PowerTrekk.

myFC is a Swedish fuel cell technology company that develops solutions for powering portable electronics. Having secured numerous patents around proprietary shape-flexible fuel cell systems with record high power density, PowerTrekk is the first commercial portable charger using myFC technology. Since the hydrogen fuel can be supplied from several alternative sources, the system is “flexifuel”. The chemistry process is safe and eco-friendly, and the only bi-product from the fuel cell is a little water vapor.

Further information: www.powertrekk.com

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Tagged as: cell, charge, fuel, portable

Did you know that a North Carolina State University team has shown that water gel-based solar devices (called: “artificial leaves”) can act like solar cells to produce electricity?

The analysis has been released on-line inside the Journal of Materials Chemistry by Dr. Orlin Velev, an Invista Professor associated with Chemical and Bio-molecular Engineering.

The conclusions prove the idea for making solar cells that more closely mimic nature. They also have the potential to be more affordable and more beneficial to our environment than the present standard silicon based solar cells.

The bendable devices are composed of water-based gel infused together with light-sensitive molecules (like plant chlorophyll) coupled with electrodes coated by carbon elements, such as carbon nanotubes or graphite.

Graphene is the simple structural element of a number of carbon allotropes such as graphite, carbon nanotubes and fullerenes. Graphene is a 1-atom thick planar sheet of carbon atoms that are largely packed in a honeycomb crystal lattice. The title comes from graphite ene; graphite itself consists of a lot of graphene sheets piled together.

The light-sensitive molecules get “excited” by the sun’s rays to generate electricity, similar to plant molecules that get excited to synthesize all kinds of sugar in order to grow.

Dr. Velev states that the research team hopes to be able to “learn how to copy the materials through which nature harnesses solar power.” Although man made light-sensitive molecules can be used, Velev says naturally derived products, like chlorophyll, are also very easily integrated in these devices because of their particular water-gel matrix.

Velev even imagines a future in which roofs could be covered with soft sheets of similar electricity-generating synthetic-leaf solar cells. The concept of biochemically inspired ‘soft’ products for generating electricity may in the future present an alternative for the present-day solid-state technologies.

About the Author: C. J. Mcguire creates for the solar fountains blog, her personal hobby web log focused on guidelines to help homeowners to spend much less energy with solar power.

Reference: Aqueous soft matter based photovoltaic devices. Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2011; DOI: http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2011/JM/c0jm01820a

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Tagged as: artificial leaf, solar

Portable Fuel Cell Charger Provides Instant Power Anywhere

North Carolina scientists reveal how water based “artificial leaf” generates electricity

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