Intelligent Energy, a fuel cell technology company, has signed a Joint Development Agreement with an emerging smartphone OEM with the goal to develop embedded fuel cell technology for the manufacturer’s devices. Once embedded, a fuel cell has the potential to keep a smartphone powered for more than a week without plugging into the wall socket. This deal will see Intelligent Energy’s Consumer Electronics division and the OEM working closely to deliver a tailored development and integration program for a specific smartphone application to address limitations imposed by the lithium-ion batteries currently used as a source of power.
It is intended that the program will build on Intelligent Energy’s existing prototype smartphone with an embedded fuel cell and result in the licensing of Intelligent Energy’s technology.
With smartphones using an ever-increasing amount of power as they become more sophisticated, consumers are becoming increasingly frustrated with the current limitations of battery life. Embedding a fuel cell into the phone means consumers can have off grid power for their phones when and where they want. Intelligent Energy’s solution retains the smartphone’s existing technology including its battery.
Julian Hughes, Acting Managing Director for Intelligent Energy’s Consumer Electronics division, said: “We have been working with the OEM over recent weeks, demonstrating to them what our hydrogen fuel cell technology can achieve when embedded into a smartphone.”
“We believe embedding fuel cell technology into portable devices provides a solution to the current dilemma of battery life and with consumers demanding more and more from their phones, battery innovation has not kept up. What we offer is a solution that is clean and efficient and means consumers could be truly mobile and free from the constraints of the grid.”
