Battery Technology

Do you remember when we were promised methanol fuel cells to power our devices? Instant charging, clean energy, super long life...where the hell is that tech??

 

I don't buy that. Toshiba had working prototypes of laptop fuel-cells in 2003. They launched a consumer powerstation in 2009 at something like <$300. There are companies supplying fuel-cell generators and there's open, public info on how to build them. It seems more that the tech is large/expensive and hasn't been miniaturised as expected to replace a battery.

 

Really?



German produced generator seemingly for anyone to buy, intended for boats, mobile homes, etc: https://www.efoy-comfort.com/ This one has testimonials from customers using them in daily life.

 

Going by the various products available, power for size isn't great. Typical petrol generators produce far more power for their size. I guess like every technology, the excitement of its potential that appeared in early press was naive of the real-world limitations that an actual product faces. I guess I'll be powering my FED TV with my methanol power-pack any day now...

 

Like petrol? And lithium batteries? You said, "it’s not in consumer space yet but does exist in other already heavily regulated space." I'm pointing you to products and dealers where you can buy generators for domestic use. How is that not in the consumer space? It's not like methanol is a restricted substance. You can even buy it on Amazon!

Sure but that's flights, and they regulate everything! It's not like health-and-safety of flights has stopped development of hair gel or spray paint which have restrictions for flights. You also said Toshiba was only able to research this because of the Nuclear Fuel Division is heavily regulated. That's clearly nonsense as you can buy the parts to build your own as well as buy complete fuel-cell generators. It's not some incredible super-power source that terrorist could put into portal laser cannons that needs international control to stop it getting into the wrong hands. There's no intrinsic reason to limit development and deployment of a new energy tech for safety reasons above all the other safety regulations out there.

If fuel-cells could be powering our laptops, they would be. It's a matter of the tech not being good enough rather than the tech being awesome but suppressed by the State to protect everyone. When I asked why, I hadn't looked into it. Now I have - the widespread availability of fuel cells, the open worldwide conferences and discussions, the home-kits one can buy to assemble one's own, the limited power and considerable cost, the US Army looking into creating new methanol fuel cells for powering their tech 5 years from now (they hope) - it's pretty apparent that the tech was just over-promised like all new tech is and the current materials.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct-ethanol_fuel_cell

 

I'm not following your argument at all. This is a recap of how I think the conversation has gone thus far:

• I wonder where methanol fuel cells have got to after years since Toshiba's early prototypes.
• You say methanol fuel cells exist but not in the consumer space as it's a dangerous tech that could be abused.
• I show it's not 'being restricted to consumers on account of being dangerous' as Toshiba released a tech to the public and there was a list of companies supplying to the public.
• You say DMFC are dangerous and controlled, the only reason Toshiba could research them is they are regulated at nuclear programme level, and those other devices are only sold to China.
• I point out DMFC isn't sold only in China and I can buy the tech pretty much anywhere.
• You point to methanol being banned in windscreen wipers as evidence of something (volatile and toxic, although I don't see how that relates to your original posit that 'power is power' and needs to be controlled who gets access to it), and you show DMFC on mobile devices are allowed and regulated on aircraft like other moderate risk hazards.
• I point out methanol being banned in windscreen wipers isn't indicative of anything and plenty of toxic and volatile substances are allowed and used so there's no reason not for running small devices with methanol (which I don't see how that fits into the original assertion that small DMFC tech exists but is being regulated). I point out regulation of anything on flights is normal and that DMFC devices are regulated on flights doesn't prove the tech is being heavily regulated to prevent it falling into the wrong hands.
  I also point out that small DMFC tech doesn't exist because if it did, the US Army wouldn't be researching it now.
• You post a number of single counterpoints that don't address the whole argument of keeping "the tech out of the wrong hands."

So I go back to your quote that I'm disputing and let's ignore the whole 'methanol is toxic' and 'the UN is regulating fuel cell cars to ensure explosive materials aren't dangerously transported around the world' tangents:

I assert there is no attempt to keep the tech from those wanting to misuse it.

1. 'The tech' is widely available as evidenced by the existence of generators that anyone wanting to develop the tech could purchase and research.
2. The tech is not especially dangerous as it's allowed on aircraft and the current state of the art tells us DMFC is low power, long life. There's nothing about DMFCs that show it could be misused any more than petrol, compressed gas, explosive lithium batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, etc.
   
3. The tech doesn't already exist in the manner envisioned (laptops/handhelds powered for ages with methanol fuel cells and recharged in a matter of seconds) as if it did, the US Army wouldn't be investing in its research now.

Unless there are top-secret hush-hush DMFC powered devices, there's nothing out there showing the idea of a DMFC powered PSP is viable technology. And it seems unlikely there are top-secret hush-hush devices because that'd need a technology that's side-stepped the current limitations without anyone knowing about them, and with the US military missing the trick. That also goes against your suggestion that it's 'old tech' and so there's nothing new in these regulated non-consumer devices, but they're just being kept out of consumers hands to prevent the tech falling into the possession of those who'd misuse it.

 

Methanol fuel cells for laptops and smaller like handheld gaming devices and mobile phones.

 

It seems the problem is size needed for a certain power rating. There's only so much chemical reaction achieved across the catalysts at the moment, meaning you need a minimum catalyst area for a given wattage, limiting size. The end result is a low wattage, long duration power source. It needs improvements in catalysts which is what the US Military is looking at in their research, with a timeline of maybe 5+ years to find something suitable. Still, it took OLED from 1987 to now to become a usable mainstream tech. There's hope for DMFC if a better catalytic process can be found, but it seems the investment isn't there.