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NEC Improves Notebook Fuel Cell

Latest prototype is smaller, more productive as battery alternative.

Martyn Williams, IDG News Service

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NEC has reduced the volume of a prototype fuel cell for notebooks--unveiled just over two months ago--by 20 percent while maintaining the same power output, the Tokyo company says.

The company unveiled its latest fuel cell at the World PC Expo show in Chiba, Japan, according to Diane Foley, an NEC spokesperson in Tokyo.

"We've been able to make it smaller and more compact, but it is able to generate the same amount of power even though it is smaller," she said.

Fuel Cell Specs

The fuel cell's size reduction has resulted in a rise in output density. The latest prototype achieves an output density of 50 milliwatts per square centimeter, up 20 percent from the prototype that NEC showed in June. That output density is currently the highest in the industry, NEC said in a statement.

Except for its size--and NEC did not release precise details about that--the fuel cell's other specifications remain unchanged.

The fuel cell can deliver an average of 14 watts of power, with the maximum pegged at 24 watts. Output voltage is 12 volts and the fuel cell weighs 31.5 ounces, of which 10.5 ounces consists of fuel. Running from a full tank of 120 cubic inches of fuel (methanol, at a concentration of 10 percent), the cell can provide enough power to run a notebook computer for around 5 hours, the company said.

Other Efforts

NEC is one of a number of companies investigating the possibility of using methanol fuel cells in notebook personal computers and other portable devices.

In June, NEC had announced plans to commercialize the technology before the end of 2004, saying that it hoped to have advanced to a 40-hour fuel cell for notebook computers within two years. On Wednesday, NEC reiterated its plans to launch a fuel-cell-powered notebook by the end of next year and said that the 40-hour fuel cell remains a goal to achieve before the end of 2005.

Toshiba unveiled a prototype fuel cell for notebook computers at the CeBIT 2003 trade show in Germany this year. The company also set a goal of commercializing the technology sometime during 2004.

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