DoCoMo demos fuel cell power for mobile phones

Stuart Corner
Saturday, 15 July 2006 04:04

Business IT - Technology

NTT DoCoMo has unveiled a prototype fuel cell recharger for mobile phone handsets weighing just 45 grammes.
It is claimed to be the smallest in the world with power output of two watts and combines DoCoMo's recharger technology with Aquafairy's thin film power unit technology and catalyst for producing hydrogen from water.

It can recharge a FOMA (DoCoMo's 3G) handset which has a 3.6v 800mAh batter in 120 minutes, but only three time. DoCoMo has not said whether it can be recharged itself, or whether it must be replaced.
The new prototype is less than one-fourth the size and more than twice as powerful as the methanol fuel cell prototype that DoCoMo unveiled on July 6, 2005. It said it intended to put that device into commercial production, but has yet to do so.

DoCoMo will exhibit the recharger at its booth at Wireless Japan 2006 from July 19 to 21.