Fuel-cell maker to develop week-long battery life for smartphones

Charging your smartphone daily will soon be a thing of the past. Intelligent Energy, in a Joint Development Agreement with smartphone manufacturer OEM, disclosed it's working on developing an embedded fuel cell technology to keep smartphones powered for one week.

Following on from the announcement on Nov. 30, 2015, this deal will see Intelligent Energy's Consumer Electronics division and the OEM working closely to deliver a tailoured development and integration programme for a specific smartphone application to address limitations imposed by the lithium-ion batteries currently used as a source of power.

It is intended that the programme will build on Intelligent Energy's existing prototype smartphone with an embedded fuel cell and result in the licensing of Intelligent Energy's technology.

UK fuel-cell maker to develop week-long smartphone battery life. (Image source: Innergie)

With smartphones using an ever increasing amount of power as they become more sophisticated, consumers are becoming increasingly frustrated with the current limitations of battery life. Embedding a fuel cell into the phone means consumers can have off grid power for their phones when and where they want. Intelligent Energy's solution retains the smartphone's existing technology including its battery.

Julian Hughes, acting managing director for Intelligent Energy's Consumer Electronics division, said: "We have been working with the OEM over the recent weeks, demonstrating to them what our hydrogen fuel cell technology can achieve when embedded into a smartphone.

"We believe embedding fuel cell technology into portable devices provides a solution to the current dilemma of battery life and with consumers demanding more and more from their phones, battery innovation has not kept up. What we offer is a solution that is clean and efficient and means consumers could be truly mobile and free from the constraints of the grid."

"The Consumer Electronics division showcased earlier this year at CES, the international consumer electronics show, its drone and smartphone prototypes and models stating its commercial focus. With consumer power demands increasing and the advent of the Internet of Things making the world more connected than ever, now is the time to address the biggest limitation we have in achieving true connectivity—battery life."