Apple Inc. has filed a patent application published by the US Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday, Sept 3, for a "Fuel Cell System to Power a Portable Computing Device". According to the application, this would be a built-in internal power system able to run a laptop for "days or even weeks without refueling".
The most common complaints of customers about modern electronics are regarding their limited battery life. Laptops, smartphones and digital cameras have the bad habit of running out of power when you need them most. Apparently, the high-tech giant Apple has decided to find a way of fixing this annoying problem.
Apple's patent application was first reported by 9to5Mac. In the application, the high-tech giant presents fuel cell power sources designed as a built-in solution into electronics. This way much of the extra weight can be avoided. Compared to batteries, fuel cells tend to become a compelling solution because of their ability to provide a lot of energy into a relatively small package.
Apple is not at its first patent application for a fuel cell system. In the year 2011, the high-tech company another application for a "portable computing device" and earlier in March 2015 the USPTO published an Apple patent application for an external fuel cell system designed to power mobile devices.
Several different products have been developed for powering electronics, but just a few have taken off. Fuel cells for electronics are typically designed for portable charging. A person can carry a rechargeable fuel cartridge that's about the size of a roll of coins. When needed, the user can recharge a music player or a smartphone. The difference in Apple's project is that the company envisions fuel cells that are built directly into electronics.
In general, fuel cells can create electricity by combining an oxidizing agent like air or pure oxygen with a fuel, such as hydrogen. Over the past few years, this technology has gained increased attention because it could replace today batteries, as well as being be used as an alternative to traditional fossil fuels, like gas and oil.
The common source of fuel for this technology is hydrogen. However, Apple's patent outlines a number of other potential fuel sources, including water and sodium silicate, water and borohydride, water and lithium hydride, or water and magnesium hydride. It is also mentioning compressed hydrogen gas and liquid hydrogen.
