Wah Shing Toys and Horizon Fuel Cell partner for Fuel Cell Toys

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Wah Shing Toys Co., Ltd. (Wah Shing), one of the world's largest toy manufacturers and Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies (Horizon), known for their H-Racer Toy Car, form a strategic partnership to develop fuel cell powered toys.

Under the agreement, Wah Shing will scale up manufacturing of Horizon's existing line of tech-toy products, with the aim of developing new fuel cell-powered products for major international toy companies. Read more

Posted on Tue, 3 Jul 2007 02:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Beer Fuel Cell in the Works at Fosters

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Australian brewery Fosters and Australia's University of Queensland team up to use brewing waste to generate energy with a microbial fuel cell.

The fuel cell would contain bacteria, which consume water-soluble brewing waste such as sugar, starch and alcohol. The bacteria release chemical energy, which the cell converts into electricity. Read more

Posted on Thu, 3 May 2007 12:20:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

I4U Gadget Flyer: PS3 Launch : Sugar Fuel Cell : Q1 Ultra UMPC

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The new !

Last week in review:
The Sony PS3 has launched today in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions after a 4 month delay. In London the first 100 customers got a free 46 inch HDTV with their Sony PS3 purchase. to mark the Europe PS3 launch we published photos of a Sony PS3 Fashion shoot with German model Julia: see the photos.

Find more Top Technology stories from last week below.
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Posted on Sun, 25 Mar 2007 02:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Scientists Invent Fuel Cell Powered by Sugar

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Coke certainly powers many geeky writer types like me and now researchers have come up with a fuel cell that can run on virtually any sugar source. That includes my favorite caffeinated beverage, Coke!

Researchers at the Saint Louis University in Missouri have developed a fuel cell that runs on any sugar source from soft drinks to tree sap. The fuel cell has the potential to run three to four times longer on a single charge than conventional lithium ion batteries we know and love today.

Posted on Wed, 21 Mar 2007 11:33:33 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

India to get Biofuel powered Mobile Phone Base Stations

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Mobile phone use is exploding in India. But outside the major cities coverage is fragemented as there is not even reliable electricity for the most part.

A development fund called GSMA and mobile companies Idea Cellular and Ericsson are now piloting a biodiesel powered cellular phone base station.
The clean burning biofuel comes from from cotton plants and a mahogany-like tree called neem and jatropha.
This is a pretty cool idea to use biofuel to power a mobile infrastructure. Solar power would be even better, but I guess there is not enough sunshine in India and a base station takes to much energy.
Read more

Posted on Thu, 8 Feb 2007 11:56:01 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Obvio Tribrid Runs on Virtually any Fuel

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Alternative fuel vehicles are a huge deal recently and will continue to be a big factor as we try to wean ourselves from the fossil fuels we currently rely on. The Obvio vehicle can run on any combination of regular gas, bio ethanol, natural gas or electricity.

An odd layout allows for side by side seating for three people and the car is slated for availability at the end of 2008. The car is expected to sell for about $59,000 if it makes it to the US. Read more

Posted on Wed, 27 Dec 2006 18:00:00 CST | by Shane McGlaun

Samsung Fuel Cell Dock Powers Laptop for a Month

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If you are tired of your laptop petering out after a mere few hours of use, Samsung has a dock they are showing off set to be launched at the end of 2007 that could power your laptop for up to one month.

I can hardly imagine not having to plug in my laptop for a month, yet that is what Samsung claims is possible with their Q35 Ultraportable. Sure if you use a real laptop like one of the SLI behemoths form Alienware you will get lots less time than that, but even going an entire day without needing to plug in would be great for many of us. Read more

Posted on Wed, 27 Dec 2006 17:00:00 CST | by Shane McGlaun

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car Now Available... Sort of

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If you want to do your part for the environment and look forward to the day that you can own your own hydrogen fuel cell car, the day is here… sort of. You can now buy a toy car that operates with a real hydrogen fuel cell.

The little toy can doesn’t need batteries it generates its own electricity via the hydrogen fuel cell inside. You simply need to add water to the hydrogen station that comes with the car which in turn delivers hydrogen to the vehicles storage system. Read more

Posted on Fri, 22 Dec 2006 17:00:00 CST | by Shane McGlaun

Hitachi Methanol Fuel Cell for Portable Devices coming 2007

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According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun Wednesday morning edition, Hitachi is supposed to sell methanol fuel cells for small electronic gadgets in 2007.

The new methanol fuel cells are designed to be used as external power packs to recharge portable devices.
Hitachi has setup a plant with 2,000-3,000 cells per month capacity.

Hitachi showed their methanol fuel cell concept for devices already in 2003. In 2004 they showed a real life prototype. It is about time this thing comes on the market. Read more

Posted on Wed, 13 Dec 2006 06:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Online Fuel-Finder Sites Profit From High Gas Prices

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Every time I drive up to a gas station these days, I can't help but think of my grandparents commenting on how furious they were when the local stations had to update their signs and pump displays to accomodate triple-digit gas prices (i.e. $1.00+). Makes you laugh, doesn't it? However, our generation gets something they didn't have - the Internet.

You may or may not know about these, but there are sites that provide you with the best local gasoline rates, and their traffic ratings are exploding. Web references like AAA's Fuel Cost Calculator are seeing as much as 20 times as many people as they did just a few months ago. Read more

Posted on Fri, 21 Jul 2006 07:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Hydrogen Fuel Toy Rocket on Sale

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ThinkGeek offers a Hydrogen Toy Rocket.

Toys are a great way to demonstrate alternative energy. We already reported about the hydrogen toy car and now you can launch a rocket with clean fuel.

After a minimal assembly, you can launch this rocket and it will fly 200 feet high!

The hydrogen powered rocket measures 11". The launch pad measures 10"x11"x17.5". You need 6 D Batteries and water.

The Hydrogen rocket sells for only $39.99 on Think Geek.
Read more

Posted on Wed, 19 Jul 2006 14:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Alternative Fuel Source For Planes: AA Batteries?

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Alright, so maybe that's a stretch. However, a Japanese pilot recently flew in an airplane that ran on simple AA alkaline batteries. Of course, the plane just had one person (the pilot) who weighed 63 kg, and the plane itself weighed 44 kg (total of about 235 pounds), and it only went 1,283 feet before the batteries died.

It took 160 AA batteries to accomplish the feat. Of course this is really just to make a fun headline. It would take about a million batteries just to fly halfway across the U.S. at that rate, which only takes about $7,500 in jet fuel. Read more

Posted on Tue, 18 Jul 2006 05:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Antig Technology Commercializes 16W Fuel Cell This Year

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Taiwanese Antig Technology is to commercialize a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) product later this 2006.

The first Antig fuel cell will have 16W of power and is aimed at charging portable devices. The fuel cell will use 70ml methanol cartridges. Output voltages range from 5V to 17V.
Read more

Posted on Fri, 30 Jun 2006 04:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

H-Racer Hydrogen Fuel Cell Toy Car on Sale Now

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Japan already saw in 2004 the first fuel cell toy car. Now the H-Racer hydrogen fuel cell toy car is on sale in the United States for a very affordable price.

Measuring 6.5" x 2.8" the H-Racer designed by Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies is without a doubt the world’s smallest hydrogen fuel cell car. With a $40 retail price, it is also the world's cheapest hydrogen fuel cell powered device.

For an additional $40 you can purchase the Hydrogen Station. The Hydrogen Station houses a small electrolyzer that creates pure hydrogen using water and solar power. Read more

Posted on Mon, 26 Jun 2006 13:10:57 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Honda FCX Fuel Cell Car Test Drive HDTV Video

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Nihon Car published a fun and interesting video in 720p HDTV, test driving the Honda FCX hydrogen fuel cell car in Japan.

The Honda FCX is the world's first Fuel Cell car on the road. We already reported about the first Honda FCX owners in the United States one year ago.

Quote from Nihon Car:
" Due to speed limitations we were not able to pass the 80 km/h mark in the FCX, but know that it pushes on to a good 140 km/h. Depending on your driving style (and use of the aircon for example) this FCX has a range of about 200km. "
You find more details and the video on Nihon Car. Read more

Posted on Mon, 29 May 2006 03:08:04 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Maxell Water Fuel Cell

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Maxell announces a 10W hydrogen fuel cell based on water and aluminum.

The Maxell fuel cell measures 160×100×60mm and weighs 920g. 10W is not a whole lot, but a start.
As far as I can tell this fuel cell is just a milestone presentation from Maxell. They will continue to improve until the size and power ratio is becoming interesting for real world use. Read more

Posted on Tue, 25 Apr 2006 01:25:46 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Disposable Fuel Cell Coming this Year from Medis Technologies

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Medis Technologies developed a disposable fuel cell to power mobile devices on the go, which is supposed to sell under $20.

Medis Technologies is using borohydride alkaline solutions inside its Fuel Cells, different from the Methanol Fuel Cells developed in Japan.
Medis' first consumer Fuel Cell is marketed as a mobile power supply, giving users 30 hour talk time on mobile phones or about 60 hours of music playback on an iPod. Looks like the consumer power pack cannot be refueled. Medis Technologies apparently has a refuel-able power pack for military use.

We met Medis Technologies at the CES 2006. You can watch the interview to learn more about the product. Read more

Posted on Sun, 15 Jan 2006 10:17:37 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Canon Shows Camera with Hydrogen Fuel Cell

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Canon demoed digital cameras powered by Hydrogen Fuel Cells at an Expo in Japan.

The current Canon fuel cells have a volume energy density equivalent to that of the lithium ion secondary batteries of the same size.

Canon is a new player in the Fuel Cell development for portable devices. Toshiba showed already a fuel cell powered mp3 player. Read more

Posted on Sun, 30 Oct 2005 09:35:04 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Toshiba Fuel Cell MP3 Player

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Toshiba announces a prototype of a Fuel Cell MP3 Player.

This Toshiba MP3 player is powered by a Methanol Fuel Cell. There is actually a Flash based MP3 player and a HDD based player. The fuel cell units have an output power of 100mW and 300mW respectively. Both prototype Toshiba Fuel Cell MP3 players include components related to the testing and are W35mm x L110mm x D20mm (flash memory) and W65mm x L125mm x D27mm (HDD) with the fuel cell units.
The HDD based Player has a 10ml fuel tank, which provides for a 60 hour play time. The Flash MP3 Player has a 3.5ml tank that holds for 35 hours. Read more

Posted on Fri, 16 Sep 2005 10:58:46 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Butane Gas Fuel Cell

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Samsung SDI has developed a fuel cell that can generate up to 100 watts of electricity for five hours with butane gas.

Apparently Matsushita has already shown a butane fuel cell, but Samsung plans to commercialize theirs already in 2007.
Wonder if the final product still allows you to warm up a can of chili while charging a Sony PSP.
More details on ChoSun.

Read more

Posted on Mon, 18 Jul 2005 12:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

I4U Gadget Flyer: iRiver U10, Micro Fuel Cell, Brain Wave MP3

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The new and receive a 1 year subscription to Sync Magazine for FREE!

That is right! I4U gives away a 1 year subscription to the cool Gadget and Gear Print Magazine Sync. You only need to !

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