US Tech Article

Manhattan Scientifics, Inc. chief fuel cell scientist,
Robert G. Hockaday, holds a "sheet" of developmental fuel cells that run on methanol-water mixture.

Last July, Hockaday said he expected to successfully test a fuel cell powered telephone by year-end. In December, Hockaday's fuel cell team ran a cellular phone continuously in standby for 24 hours and made periodic phone calls. Hockaday said, "We have achieved the minimum of 100 milliwatts of power output necessary to keep the phone in standby and simultaneously trickle charge a battery with our pre-prototype system. This is a major step in our effort to commercialize a long-life Micro-Fuel Cell power system for portable electronics."

Compatible with Batteries
The first Micro Fuel Cells are being developed to be compatible replacements for conventional cellular phone battery packs. Capable of being produced in economical mile-long, thin, printed sheets (much like printed circuits), Micro Fuel Cells may eventually obsolete small batteries. Better, smaller, less-costly, environmentally safe, and much more efficient, the patented technologies of the methanol-based Micro Fuel Cell are expected to drive a digital cellular telephone and ultimately power notebook computers.

The pre-prototype breadboard system tested in December consisted of 20 miniature fuel cells on five sheets of plastic connected in series to deliver four volts to the cellular phone. The system was fueled with a 50 percent methanol water mixture. The successful demonstration of the pre-prototype marks another significant milestone in the development of the micro-fuel cell. Hockaday said, "We expect to complete a fully working prototype before mid 1999. Our ultimate goal is to maintain a digital cellular telephone on standby for more than six months and to provide 100 hours of talk time with a single refueling of several ounces of a methanol/water mix." He said that a convenient source for thie "fuel" is ordinary windshield washer fluid. For commercial use, the tiny energy source will be engineered to be smaller and lighter than a conventional rechargeable battery and is expected to be priced competitively with conventional cellular phone batteries.

"What we're trying to do here is to make what is probably the very first commercially viable consumer fuel-cell product," Hockaday told U.S. Tech. "We have to make something that is possible to manufacture and sell at a profit."

Manhattan Scientifics also has under development (and has filed patents for) its invention of a portable charging system utilizing its micro fuel cell technology. If successfully developed, it could eliminate the need for wall-plug AC electrical charging of batteries. The company's portable charger, which it calls Power Holster, is being designed to become an integral part of a cellular telephone system. The intention is to provide a constant trickle charge to the telephone's conventional battery, thus creating an "always-on" powered system.

Marvin Maslow, Manhattan Scientific's CEO said, "The company's strategy is to first complete the working prototype and then identify an appropriate strategic corporate partner to manufacture and distribute the new energy devices. A number of Fortune/100 telecommunications, battery, film and chemical companies have contacted us and visited us. They are monitoring our progress and waiting for us to invite them to test our technology, which we intend to do as soon as we are ready. We would like to eliminate the word `recharge' from the English language and change it to `refuel.' There have been substantial improvements in battery technologies lately. This is good news for us because it improves the effectiveness of our portable charger system, designed to keep the newer long-life lithium ion batteries in cellular telephones and other small electronic devices charged for extended periods." Manhattan Scientifics, Inc. with research headuarters in Los Alamos, NM, and business offices in New York City, is a technology incubator currently developing patented technologies that address two critical issues in the advancement of consumer and commercial electronics: portable power and holographic media for data storage.

Down the road, fuel cells for notebook computers may make their appearance sometime next year. According to Hockaday, the fuel cells themselves would probably go behind the screen, to keep this heat-generating component away from the Pentium processor and from the user's lap. "The refueling bulb would probably be in the underside of the computer," he concluded.

For more information, contact:
Manhattan Scientifics, Inc.,
127 Eastgate Drive, Los Alamos, NM 87544.
Tel: 505-662-0660; fax: 505-662-0665.
Web: http://www.mhtx.com




			-This Article reproduced courtesy of US Tech
	Paper-Thin Fuel Cells Power Cell Phone When is a battery not a battery? When it's a fuel cell, and now with the development of the Micro-Fuel Cell by Manhattan Scientifics, Inc., many portable applications such as cell phones and notebook computers may be outfitted with a totally new and different power source. According the company's chief fuel cell scientist, Robert G. Hockaday, using MSI's current technology, a micro fuel cell can produce enough electricity to power a cellular telephone. Manhattan Scientifics, Inc. chief fuel cell scientist, Robert G. Hockaday, holds a "sheet" of developmental fuel cells that run on methanol-water mixture. Last July, Hockaday said he expected to successfully test a fuel cell powered telephone by year-end. In December, Hockaday's fuel cell team ran a cellular phone continuously in standby for 24 hours and made periodic phone calls. Hockaday said, "We have achieved the minimum of 100 milliwatts of power output necessary to keep the phone in standby and simultaneously trickle charge a battery with our pre-prototype system. This is a major step in our effort to commercialize a long-life Micro-Fuel Cell power system for portable electronics." Compatible with Batteries The first Micro Fuel Cells are being developed to be compatible replacements for conventional cellular phone battery packs. Capable of being produced in economical mile-long, thin, printed sheets (much like printed circuits), Micro Fuel Cells may eventually obsolete small batteries. Better, smaller, less-costly, environmentally safe, and much more efficient, the patented technologies of the methanol-based Micro Fuel Cell are expected to drive a digital cellular telephone and ultimately power notebook computers. The pre-prototype breadboard system tested in December consisted of 20 miniature fuel cells on five sheets of plastic connected in series to deliver four volts to the cellular phone. The system was fueled with a 50 percent methanol water mixture. The successful demonstration of the pre-prototype marks another significant milestone in the development of the micro-fuel cell. Hockaday said, "We expect to complete a fully working prototype before mid 1999. Our ultimate goal is to maintain a digital cellular telephone on standby for more than six months and to provide 100 hours of talk time with a single refueling of several ounces of a methanol/water mix." He said that a convenient source for thie "fuel" is ordinary windshield washer fluid. For commercial use, the tiny energy source will be engineered to be smaller and lighter than a conventional rechargeable battery and is expected to be priced competitively with conventional cellular phone batteries. "What we're trying to do here is to make what is probably the very first commercially viable consumer fuel-cell product," Hockaday told U.S. Tech. "We have to make something that is possible to manufacture and sell at a profit." Manhattan Scientifics also has under development (and has filed patents for) its invention of a portable charging system utilizing its micro fuel cell technology. If successfully developed, it could eliminate the need for wall-plug AC electrical charging of batteries. The company's portable charger, which it calls Power Holster, is being designed to become an integral part of a cellular telephone system. The intention is to provide a constant trickle charge to the telephone's conventional battery, thus creating an "always-on" powered system. Marvin Maslow, Manhattan Scientific's CEO said, "The company's strategy is to first complete the working prototype and then identify an appropriate strategic corporate partner to manufacture and distribute the new energy devices. A number of Fortune/100 telecommunications, battery, film and chemical companies have contacted us and visited us. They are monitoring our progress and waiting for us to invite them to test our technology, which we intend to do as soon as we are ready. We would like to eliminate the word `recharge' from the English language and change it to `refuel.' There have been substantial improvements in battery technologies lately. This is good news for us because it improves the effectiveness of our portable charger system, designed to keep the newer long-life lithium ion batteries in cellular telephones and other small electronic devices charged for extended periods." Manhattan Scientifics, Inc. with research headuarters in Los Alamos, NM, and business offices in New York City, is a technology incubator currently developing patented technologies that address two critical issues in the advancement of consumer and commercial electronics: portable power and holographic media for data storage. Down the road, fuel cells for notebook computers may make their appearance sometime next year. According to Hockaday, the fuel cells themselves would probably go behind the screen, to keep this heat-generating component away from the Pentium processor and from the user's lap. "The refueling bulb would probably be in the underside of the computer," he concluded. For more information, contact: Manhattan Scientifics, Inc., 127 Eastgate Drive, Los Alamos, NM 87544. Tel: 505-662-0660; fax: 505-662-0665. Web: http://www.mhtx.com