A new generation
Traditional NiMH or Alkaline batteries still rule the market for stored energy, a reliable but as we all know not very sustainable and clean . Admitted, the rechargeable ones are getting better and better, but still they aren’t and probably never will be as clean as we would like it. So it may be time for a new generation. The most promising technology now available seems to be fuel cells, energy storage units based on Hydrogen power. Well here it is! Ladies and gentlemen Millenium Cell in cooperation with Horizon Technologies proudly present a new portable battery based on hydrogen power technique, the Hydropak.
You’re right, it is not exactly new and maybe not really a breakthrough, but it is another step forward towards a new standard for batteries, one that is better for the environment and so better for all of us. Amen. The advantages of the Hydropak over traditional batteries? There are many. The device delivers 350 Wh, enough to keep it going for about fourteen hours at full speed. It could reload your laptop battery up to ten times. Since in fuel cell systems the energy supplier and power system is separated there is no reloading time when it’s empty, just plug in a new cartridge, add some water and it’s ready to go again. Furthermore it does it’s work in silence and the only byproduct is water, clean pure water, so it can be used indoors as well as outdoors. Oh, and another advantage over rechargeable NiMH batteries, the fuel cells energy won’t leak away that quickly, in fact it hardly does. Of course there are some disadvantages too. The device is not yet cheap, 400 dollars plus 20 for each new cartridge. But prices will drop as soon as enough people buy them. It’s just like with your computer, by the time you first manage to get the peep thing running the price has dropped 10% already. It sucks but that’s life. So far the Hydropak is only available in the US of A.