The current smartphones may have features we never many thought possible for years, such as high-speed Internet access, biometric scanners, 4K video recording, and even limited VR capabilities, but all this comes at the expense of a region that many older cell phones are fondly-remembered for: battery life.
While many of the upcoming smartphones are said to have massively improved batteries, such as Samsung S7, they still needed fairly regular charge, especially when used intensively. But a UK-based company claims that it is developing a system that would allow a smartphone to work for a whole week before requiring a charge.
Intelligent Energy Holdings Plc said its hydrogen-based fuel cell will be small enough to fit in a smartphone yet powerful enough to keep it running for seven days, and could be available to the public within two years.
The company said an "emerging" smartphone maker is so impressed with the technology that it is investing $7.6 million in its development, reports Bloomberg.
"Embedding fuel cell technology in portable devices offers a solution to the current dilemma of battery life," Julian Hughes, Acting Director Consumer Electronics division Intelligent Energy, said in a statement. "With consumers demanding more and more from their phones, did not maintain the battery innovation."
Intelligent Energy Holdings Plc has 25 years experience in the field of energy and has already worked on a zero-emission, hydrogen-powered black cab in London and a fuel cell powered aircraft for Boeing. The technology works by converting hydrogen into electricity, leaving only water as a byproduct.
Last year the company unveiled a prototype iPhone 6 which uses hydrogen fuel cells. The only change from the original design was some small rear vents so could escape an imperceptible amount of water vapor.
There are still some hurdles to overcome, but should Intelligent Energy Holdings technology' find its way into commercial smartphones, charging our devices almost every day can be a thing of the past.
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