Click here to view the printer friendly version of this press release
Los Alamos, NM, October 18, 2001 - Manhattan Scientifics, Inc. (MHTX) announced today that it has produced a proprietary new MicroFuel Cell™ portable charger (Power Holster™ ) fueled from sealed ampoules achieving 1 watt of power. The Power Holster™ represents a safe, low cost "portable wall plug" that could provide consumers with unprecedented cell phone talk time as well as the extended use of other portable electronics.
The fuel contained in the ampoules is a borax-like material called sodium borohydride. When mixed with water the material generates small, safe amounts of hydrogen gas at low pressure.
The ampoules are disposable or recyclable and contain a patent pending feature allowing them to function in virtually any environment. They are small enough to fit into most portable electronics. In addition to the fuel cell producing electricity and water, the product left in the ampoule is commonly called "Boraxo," a water softener in laundry detergents. By running its Power Holster™ charger on sodium borohydride ampoules, the company believes it has demonstrated the additional flexibility of its MicroFuel Cell™ technology to run safely on hydrogen as well as methanol.
New generation cell phones now being introduced to consumers require power well beyond the capacity of current lithium ion batteries to power them for long periods. Manhattan Scientifics believes the solution lies in portable charging devices that provide a constantly charged state. Earlier this month, the company announced its cooperative fuel cell development work with the Mihama Corporation where an earlier version of the PowerHolster™ was demonstrated at a trade show in Japan.
Manhattan Scientifics Chief Fuel Cell Scientist Robert Hockaday said, "With the rapidly growing need for higher power performance in future portable electronics, we are developing highly promising new ways to achieve this needed power that can provide improved energy performance and operating time over current batteries."
Marvin Maslow, CEO of Manhattan Scientifics, said, "This is another important breakthrough from our lab in Los Alamos. We are getting closer to the day when mobile phones and other small portable electronics will run for weeks or months on small amounts of hydrogen or methanol that is environmentally friendly. Our new Power Holstertm brings us significantly closer to commercialization as we continue to actively discuss various potential partnerships with other companies."
The MicroFuel Cell™ array contained in the new Power Holster™ consists of 10 cells fabricated on a sheet of plastic. The array is 1.8 inches wide by 4.7 inches long by 0.02 inches thick and achieves approximately 1 watt of power, a significant improvement over the company's previous efforts. The Power Holster™ is designed to charge the cell phone's internal battery through its charging port. In the first test, a single ampoule achieved a specific energy of 356 watt*hr/kg. This means it extended by a factor of 2 to 3, the operation of current lithium ion batteries.