The biggest problem with using a laptop is that generally you won’t get more than four hours from a battery before it needs to be recharged. This is can be quite a pain, since most of us work at least eight hours a day.

Samsung has made significant progress towards solving this problem by demonstrating a docking station incorporating a 12,000Wh fuel Cell for its Q35 ultraportable laptop. Utilizing its DMFC technology (Direct Methanol Fuel Cell), Samsung says the fuel cell achieves a maximum power output of 20W. 

With DMFC technology methanol is fed directly into the fuel cell. Catalytic reforming is unneeded. Because methanol is a liquid storage is easier than that of say hydrogen because it does not need to stored at high pressures and low temperatures. The energy density of methanol is much greater than compressed hydrogen.

Samsung says that its fuel cell can achieve an energy density of 650Wh/L, and that with 12,000Wh of energy storage, this fuel cell should be able to power a laptop for one month, depending on the laptop’s power settings.

The fuel cell system is said to be very quiet. A minature version of the fuel cell is being developed, which according to Samsung should be able to power a laptop for more than 15 hours on a 100 cc of fuel.

It’s expected thay Samsung will release a DMFC into the market by the end of 2007.

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Entry was posted on Friday, December 29th, 2006 at 1:31 am under Science and technology, Technology.

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