For some time to come, fuel cells for portable products will be just a novelty/stunt. In the best case scenario, they are a battery charger supplying constant current because they are much harder to throttle than a lithium battery, particularly as they get miniaturized. A serious problem for portable electronics is the waste heat. When you use a lithium battery to deliver 10 watts to a product, the total heat dissipated in the product is about 10 watts. When you use a fuel cell to deliver 10 watts, not only is the 10 watts turned to heat, but the fuel cell (only about 40% efficient, and only about 50% theoretically) will deliver an additional 25 watts of heat for that same load. Cellphones in particular are limited in peak performance today by the need to dissipate the heat generated inside the small enclosure. Powering an iPhone with a fuel cell is just a technology stunt.
This heat dissipation is not a serious problem for a car. Historic applications of internal combustion engines has to deal with huge heat exchange to get rid of 40-100kW of heat from the automobile size engine. For the same output, the fuel cell will produce less heat than the IC engine. Fuel cells applications for cars are likely to be hybrids for a long time due to throttling limitations. Thus, using a fuel cell over an IC engine for driving the hybrid's charger is just a matter of efficiency, efficacy, cost, and commitment to environmental issues. How much range will it have and how much will it cost in total $/mile over the life of the car? It will be pretty hard to beat my turbo diesel Jeep GC today - I have a single tank highway range of over 600 miles, and at least right now, diesel fuel is cheaper than regular gas - and - I am riding in the lux of an upsized 4WD SUV instead of a fragile compact car like the Prius. [I tore up a Prius rental in a few days because it was too fragile for the mountain roads where I live]. It reminds me of the situation of GaAs ICs. Yes, the mobility of GaAs was better than Si. However, as GaAs technology was improving to bring it to market, Si technology was advancing at an even greater rate. It was said prophetically, "GaAs is the technology of the future, and it always will be." Many technologies are like this [but I don't think that is the case for LENR]. On Thu, Sep 24, 2015 at 8:33 AM, Jones Beene <[email protected]> wrote: > Apple is at it again – this time with hydrogen – first to power the > iphone, and then the driverless car. > > A UK research company with 900 patents, Intelligent Energy - is tied to > Apple in a similar hidden way as ARM, which designs the iphone chips. Having > a bank roll of $200 billion in liquid assets will let you do crazy things > like move all the way from computeres into automotive – when the time is > right. I suppose they could just buy Toyota and be done with it. > > > *http://www.forbes.com/sites/billtucker/2015/09/09/fuel-cells-apple-and-intelligent-energy/* > <http://www.forbes.com/sites/billtucker/2015/09/09/fuel-cells-apple-and-intelligent-energy/> > > *http://www.intelligent-energy.com/* <http://www.intelligent-energy.com/> > > > *http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/11818169/British-hydrogen-fuel-cell-pioneer-develops-cars-and-iPhones-of-the-future.html* > <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/11818169/British-hydrogen-fuel-cell-pioneer-develops-cars-and-iPhones-of-the-future.html> > > Of course, Apple also has “bettery” options. It will be a curious > competition if the megacap (mega-farad capacitor) comes to market at the > same time as the hydrogen fuel cell (and/or the barium titanate device). > Of course, there is room for all. The fuel cell is ready but it is the > infrastructure for cheap hydrogen gas, which is lacking. If the graphene > megacap and barium titanate designs were integrated, one could potentially get > both high voltage and higher capacity. It’s all about synergy. > > In fact, the fuel cell, the battery, and the electrolytic capacitor are > all three variations on the same theme, especially when hydrogen is the > charge carrier. In fact, LENR in some form (using dense hydrogen) could > be considered to be another variation on the theme. > > _____________________________________________ > *previous message* > > There is an eccentric inventor on YouTube named Robert Murray-Smith, who > has been working towards the megafarad capacitor using graphene oxide, and > has recently made progress (without much funding). > > Certainly, the best use of coal is not to burn it - but to turn it into > graphene (and CNT, Bucky-balls, filaments, etc.). Mass-produced graphene > oxide megacapacitors should be cheaper than any other imaginable energy > storage medium like lithium batteries, since the main raw material is coal. > > Murray-Smith figures that the average house, and the power needs of two > adults, could be handled by 2-3 megafarad caps, about the size of a single > regular car battery. They could be recharged off-peak in a few minutes, or > slowly with solar. The current Tesla automobile would need about 10 of them > and could be charged in less time than the home, since the limitation on > the home is the puny grid connection (assuming a charging station has a > high power charger) > > I agree with Robin that the ADGEX and possibly the STEORN are using an > advanced capacitor system, which could be made from graphene oxide or not. > Their capacitors are probably in the kilo-farad range but megafarad will > happen soon. There is probably an antenna in these units for capturing > Wi-Fi as well. RCA developed this tech 5 years ago. > *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wOJEIMf12I&html5=1* > <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wOJEIMf12I&html5=1> > > It is very possible that an additional self-charging anomaly has been > discovered as one get capacitance levels up to the kilofarad range. This > does not necessarily violate CoE, so long as the device cools as it > recharges. This magneto-cooling phenomenon was seen with the Arthur Manelas > device. > > Jones >
