First hydrogen-powered cars, and now hydrogen-powered mobile phones. Will these alternate sources of fuel and power eventually become mainstream someday? The possibility doesn't seem far off at this point, with STMicroelectronics working on a mobile phone power system that uses hydrogen as a reserve power supply. More in the full article.

When it comes to predicting how Earth would look like hundreds of years from now, there are two schools of thought dominating the field of science. First are the conservatives who believe global warming, exhaustion of fuel cells, and destruction of the environment will ultimately lead to our extinction. The second group is the liberals, who think that Homo Sapiens are far too advanced to let these things end their existence - they maintain that we'll be able to come up with scientific methods to clear pollution, produce alternatives for energy, or if all else fails, create a colony of our own outer space.

We're neither fans of human extinction nor are we narcissistic fools, but this latest technological wonder from Netherlands can further fan the flames of that debate.

The folks over at the Delft University of Technology has come up with a solar-powered mouse (not live ones silly, we're talking about computer peripherals here). According to the press release they issued, Sole Mio was designed to be used by anyone with access to sunlight, or even artificial light. The technology behind this product enables it to charge power from sources of light, making it available for the owner's usage. Here's a text from the press release:

With solar energy, under ideal circumstances charging can occur a factor of five times quicker than in the current situation. Over time it is estimated that several hundred million batteries could be saved annually on a global scale. The net environmental benefit is still restricted by the high energy content of current PV cells. However the introduction of new types of cheap and energy-extensive PV cells, on which TU Delft and partners are working, would eventually yield an even higher environmental gain.

So they're looking into making this more environment friendly in the long run. Is this then the first step towards what the liberal wing in science believes as the next stage of man's evolution? Can humans actually create ways to destroy the planet and save itself at the same time?

Wake me up from cryostasis when a solar-powered race is in charge of the planet.

You read that right; I did say fuel cell.

A lot of companies support fuel-cell technology because it seems a perfect solution for recharging batteries of devices like mobile phones, PDAs, laptops and mp3 players. We've only seen products like Toshiba's reported fuel cell prototype (which, by the way, isn't even portable.)

Now we have a company that's already started shipping portable fuel cells in several areas such as mainland China, Europe, Taiwan, US, and Japan. More Energy, a company in Lod, Israel and a subsidiary of Medis Technologies, has developed a disposable fuel cell that will recharge any device that needs recharging.

The creator of this portable fuel cell is Gennadi Finkelshtain who is also the general manager of More Energy. His invention is housed in a flexible plastic shell (compared to a deck of cards, this one's a bit larger). To use it, one has to squeeze the shell container which will resist lightly before you hear a click. You then plug the cable in and connect it to the device you will be recharging.

The fuel cell recharger pack from More Energy will be the first commercially-distributed device if the company meets its deadlines (in terms of mass production and shipping) come 2007.

Scientist from Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have been developing ways on how to harvest energy and extend operating hours for your devices like your laptop or your mobile phone. At the Hanover Trade Fair they displayed new energy storage technologies, micro-fuel cells and information on drawing power from multiple energy sources available in the environment of the device.

Researchers are using micro fuel cells as chemical power converters to supply power for mobile devices. The flat micro cells are made of polymer and metallic films. Three of these would amount to 1.5 V, enough to replace conventional button cells.

The concept of energy harvesting refers to using light, heat or motion to generate energy. For example, the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM employs thermoelectrics: energy is generated by a heat flow source such as the user's wrist. Prominent clock makers use this technology to power watches. Micro-integrated thermo-electric converters can also be used to cool electronic components.

Building on the concept of thermoelectrics, theoretically if you let your mobile phone equipped with these micro fuel cells sunbathe for a few hours every day, you'd never run out of battery. Ever.

Nowadays, it is not only cars that are going "green" or environment friendly, thanks to the hybrid technology. Cellular phones are somewhat following suit as well as Samsung may soon be using a different power source for its mobiles. The South Korean electronics behemoth recently announced that they now have plans to build prototypes of mobile phones powered by fuel cells.

Samsung announced that it has signed an exclusive deal to use the technology of MTI MicroFuel Cells of Albany, New York (MTI Micro) which is a unit of Mechanical Technology. The joint development deal will last for 18 months and both companies are prohibited to work with any other company with an aim of developing fuel cells as power source for mobile phones. Surprisingly, Samsung committed only $1 Million for this work.

That amount may mean peanuts to a gargantuan company like Samsung, but to a just-starting and fledging fuel cell industry, that means a lot. At the same time, this deal is also viewed as a confidence booster of sorts to a small company like MTI Micro. The joint development deal was set in motion more than a year ago when the people at MTI were able to produce a Mobion fuel cell power source for a Samsung PDA. That caught Samsung's attention like a schoolboy with a secret crush.

MTI's technology harnesses methyl alcohol, to produce electricity. On paper, it may seem like basic chemistry, but not always easy to set in motion. Often the presence of water requires a complicated set of micro-pumps and pipes to move the water to where it needs to be. MTI has developed a way to do it without the need for a pump, and without the need to carry water in the first place.

Currently, Samsung is the latest major company to show interest with MTI Micro. Gillette, which owns the Duracell brand of batteries, is assisting MTI Micro in creating a retail and distribution business for a market for disposable fuel cells. The Singapore-based contract electronics manufacturer, Flextronics International, has also teamed up with MTI Micro to build fuel cells. Green is in, and we hope that we will be having a greener future.