Apple Hydrogen Fuel Cell Battery Plans Revealed

Apple is planning to make devices powered by hydrogen fuel cells, according to patent applications published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The plans could create computers and phones with weeks-long battery power. It would also make the devices lighter and less bulky.

According to the Telegraph, hydrogen fuel cells work by converting hydrogen and oxygen into water and electrical energy. This technology is already being explored for cars and the military.

"Our country's continuing reliance on fossil fuels has forced our government to maintain complicated political and military relationships with unstable governments in the Middle East, and has also exposed our coastlines and our citizens to the associated hazards of offshore drilling," reads the patent application. "These problems have led to an increasing awareness and desire on the part of consumers to promote and use renewable energy sources."

This won't come as much of a surprise to those who follow Apple closely. The company has filed several other patent applications for similar technology, as reported by Apple Insider in October.

Check out a diagram of the system, courtesy of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

For more exciting Apple concepts, take a look at the most intriguing patents Apple has filed for.

Comments

[RecreationalPilot]

11:58 AM on 12/28/2011

SAMSUNG - Holds the Utility Patents for HFC Laptops, cell phones, Docking Stations, etc.

Samsung holds those 20-year patents since 2006. Apple is 7 years too late.

===

They have a 1-month Methane Fuel Cell deployed by the military in Afghanistan & Iraq, being field tested since 2010.

[Aneyeforit1]

07:55 AM on 12/28/2011

Hydrogen fuel cells have been around for more than two decades. Governments do not want you to posses this technology as it threatens the monopoly held by the oil industry. BP and others already offer home packs for the wealthy; unfortunately their price does not yet compete with the cost of electricity as it stands. The technology is rapidly falling in price and will become accesible to most in the near future. What must not happen is that we allow companies to patent technologies that should be free for all and monopolize yet another source of energy, free energy in this case. Users must take control and explore ways of making these devices with readily available materials and in as many different designs as possible with patents covering a wide range of uses. The important issue is to keep the designs free from corporate patents and monopoly so that everyone can benefit. What is specially needed is free access to designs that ensure the safety of these devices without incurring patent rights and that every body can have access to these. Also, safety laws should not be allowed to appear so that they are impossible to meet for the DIY user; a common way of making a monopoly of a particular technology is to make laws that only allow government qualified companies to make devices, excluding anyone else who cannot meet the strict demands of safety bylaws or who cannot afford the expense of development. Free energy for all!

[karen1963yorks]

07:19 AM on 12/28/2011

A woman I work with has a degree in sociology yet she still thinks you can run a car on water.
What I had to explain to her was it takes energy to get that water to power your car and as things stand that energy will come from coal oil or nuclear power.
I am all for these cells but people need to understand that we still need a clean source of energy. These cells dont produce energy they just store or convert conventional energy.

[SlyKermit]

09:11 AM on 12/28/2011

Or a wind turbine creating electricity

[YWROADRUNNER]

10:18 AM on 12/28/2011

You're quite correct. A fuel cell battery offers several advantages, long life as well as the fact that it could be refilled in a couple of minutes. However as you stated it requires energy to produce the hydrogen and no conversion technology is 100% efficient. So as far as energy consumption it is anything but green.
It is a shame that a company such as apple should market this product in connection with reducing our dependency on foreign oil.
Your coworkers level of understanding relating to Energy Technologies is indicative of the U.S. population, if it's marketed as green they will buy it.
The wonderful example of this is the current popularity of hybrid cars. When you factor in the manufacturing and disposal of the batteries and related components as well as the fact that the cost of the battery pack makes it impractical to repair a high mileage vehicle (therefore relatively short Service Life) the carbon footprint resembles BIG FOOT.

[karen1963yorks]

10:52 AM on 12/28/2011

Thanks for the exellent posting. However my co-worker and I are both British.
I suspect the general level of understanding of the issue is about the same in both countries.

[adika3z]

07:05 AM on 12/28/2011

what country make this apple battery.
america or asia.
why apple / mac is made in china or asia and not want america make it.

[karen1963yorks]

07:20 AM on 12/28/2011

Its simply cost.

[RecreationalPilot]

11:59 AM on 12/28/2011

Samsung - South Korea

They hold the patents for HFC powered cell phones & laptops.

This author conveniently did not do any research.

[Charles Burch]

05:56 AM on 12/28/2011

Apple filed a patent application, but this is no guarantee that the technology will be deployed commercially any time soon. Fuel cell technology has been around since the 60's. The time to get excited when the product is launched.

[Alicia Sonshine Fort]

05:33 AM on 12/28/2011

i have no idea what i just read, a lot of that went over my head. . .

[rmurrayatlanta]

02:41 AM on 12/28/2011

I love how they get a patent to protect the invention and then the patent office releases the pictures of the project you just got a patent on.. seems kinda like a bad ideal and unethical for the patent office but I do not know the law concerning this. this technology seems kinda explosive and dangerous for some reason.

[palefeet1]

03:41 AM on 12/28/2011

It has to be public, otherwise nobody could object or put in infringement arguments...

[karen1963yorks]

07:21 AM on 12/28/2011

If a patent is kept secret how can you accuse anyone of making a copy?
The way a patent works is you are saying to the world THIS IS MINE.

[pleblian]

02:08 AM on 12/28/2011

I just got a macbook pro for christ-mas...

I wonder if in the near future I'll have use a breathalyzer to start it

[phatemu]

06:27 AM on 12/28/2011

Just use the one you need to start your car.

[pleblian]

12:29 PM on 12/28/2011

I'm proud to say, I have a perfect driving record

[ZeRealBigBoss]

01:24 AM on 12/28/2011

If you read that application well, its text tries to cover any and all applications of fuel cells, not only computers. Same league as Monsanto claiming the rights to all trees.

[karen1963yorks]

07:23 AM on 12/28/2011

Good point but I suspect there are quite a few patents on fuel cells out there already. NASA must have a few.

[Trout007]

10:20 PM on 12/27/2011

Can we make it methane instead of hydrogen? It would make recharging funnier.

[willbgone]

07:07 AM on 12/28/2011

Yes but "plugging in" in public might be a tad awkward.

[karen1963yorks]

07:25 AM on 12/28/2011

Depends if you think Apple product obsessive are a bunch of ****holes?

[kori77]

09:21 PM on 12/27/2011

Check out this fuel cell application for the home, only available in Germany at this time http://www.baxi-innotech.de/index.php?id=64&lang=1

[karen1963yorks]

07:27 AM on 12/28/2011

I have been looking at these and the idea is wonderful. Local microgeneration of electricity solves the massive losses in transfer that we get now.

[BrettG88]

08:48 PM on 12/27/2011

I know, why doesn't Apple make a apple powered device?!

[PatientZeroBeat]

10:13 PM on 12/27/2011

Hmmm, some apples are fairly acidic so you have something there. Genius I tell ya, genius!

[RecreationalPilot]

12:01 PM on 12/28/2011

Perhaps they are rotten to the core?

[CaptD]

07:43 PM on 12/27/2011

Every "drop" of Energy save the Planet!
Good News not just for Apple but for everyone,
... That does not sell Energy!

[A Guy That Knows Stuff]

06:31 PM on 12/27/2011

There are several technology advancements they made but dont sell in the market till 40-30 years later like hydrogen fuel cells.

[A Guy That Knows Stuff]

06:28 PM on 12/27/2011

I bet the military already are using this technology. Hydrogen fuel cells... pssh this is old news!