Horizon Fuel Cell MiniPAK

I have no idea if fuel cells are going to be the alternative energy source of the future, but if technology like the Bloom Box and products like the MiniPak from Horizon Fuel Cell start to permeate society, they’ll definitely be a strong contender.   The MiniPak is a pocketable power source that generates up to 2.5W (5V at 400mA) of continuous power from a 12Wh refillable fuel cartridge.   Compared to the approximate 3Wh of energy in a standard AA battery, each full cartridge provides the energy equivalent of four AA batteries.  But since these cartridges can be refilled hundreds of times, each one is capable of providing more than 1000 AA alkaline batteries worth of total power over its lifetime.

Power generated by the MiniPak is administered to devices via a standard USB port with adapter cables for a variety of consumer electronic devices.   Horizon’s proprietary fuel cell technology combines hydrogen stored in a safe, metal hydride solution with oxygen in the air to create electricity (an a small amount of water vapor).  Priced at $99, its hard to imagine this thing replacing a good pack of Duracell’s, but who knows what will happen as the price of this technology falls.

Check out the video demonstration…

[Via: gizmag]