Nippon Telegraph and Telephone has developed a fuel cell that will provide 3G telephone sets with up to 9 hours of talk time. The catch is that it'll take until 2008 before the technology will be able to deliver on its promises.

One could argue that the two days of battery life that we get out of our mobile phones at this moment is sufficient, but 3G models will suck up a significant larger amount of power, requiring for a major overhaul in battery technology.

Fuel cells could provide that technology. They use liquid hydrogen or methanol to create electricity. The big advantage is that the technology allows for rapid recharging (refuelling to be exact) and has a larger storage capacity than traditional batteries.

Fuel cell technology might deal with the jungle of power adapters that reside under our desks, consumers instead will get a hydrogen storage unit the size of a car battery in their homes to refuel their devices – just forget about carrying that thing with you on a business trip.

25 Feb 2005