Some quick background: DMFCs produce electricity from a reaction of methanol, water, and air—the only by products are a small amount of water vapor and carbon dioxide. You refill the fuel cell with a few squirts of methanol, and presto, you're able to charge gadgets without a wall socket.

The idea has been in development for 10 years, and Toshiba says that they're "seriously considering and researching the next model to [be available for the] worldwide market."

IDGNS tested the new Dynario charger on gear like the PSP and iPod, and say it pretty much does its job flawlessly—though it won't support every device you connect to its USB socket, including the iPhone. Toshiba has a list, and says about four out of five gadgets should work.

The ¥29,800 (roughly $325) charger is about the size of a PSP, and has a brushed metal finish. It has a small battery to "kick start" the power generation, which charges itself in operation.

50ml refill bottles/cartridges come in packs of 5 for ¥3150 (about $35), so clearly this isn't cost-effective yet. IDGNS says each methanol bottle is good for about 3.5 refills, and each refill charges a cellphone twice.

And while the charger itself is cleared for airline travel, the methanol bottles aren't. Toshiba hopes to sell them at airports for quick charges before or after flights. So travel aside, maybe the technology has more potential for emergency kits for use in blackouts and natural disasters? Time will tell. [PC World]

DMFCs produce electricity from a reaction of methanol, water, and air—the only by-products are a small amount of water vapor and carbon dioxide. Japanese wireless carrier, KDDI, has combined the fuel cell with a Lithium Ion battery to better handle the phone's spikes in power demand.

This combination gives the prototype phone about 320 hours of power. That's around 3 days longer than an equivalent handset. And instead of taking an hour or so to recharge, a few squirts of methanol only takes seconds. Right now the prototype is thicker than we demand of today's phones, but the two companies hope the technology will eventually make it into portable gadgets like phones and media players.

Of course, Toshiba promised to start selling a DMFC battery charger by September, and there's still no sign of it. Good to see they're making inroads, though. It's pretty interesting tech. [PC World and DVICE]

It's not fast: 20km/h is what, like 13mph? So, slower than most sprinters and many joggers. And its two 800-watt electrical motor wheels can't yet run all day. But the thing, developed in part by a group of Italian automotive parts makers called From Concept To Car, and in part from various Italian government agencies and universities, is technically more environmentally correct than the standard plug-in scooter.

Not only is it cute, Italian and super green, but that name sells itself. I already came up with the first advertising slogan: "I hate to see her leave but I love to see H-ergo." [Autoblog Green]

This new cell utilizes only four components—a water reservoir and a chamber containing metal hydride separated by a thin membrane with an assembly of electrodes that conduct electricity underneath. Because of the small size of the cell, the team was able to eliminate the pump, pressure sensor, and controlling electronics that create such a power drain in typical fuel cells.

The first designs of the cell were capable of generating 0.7 volts and a current of 0.1 milliamps for 30 hours—but they claim that new versions can deliver 1 milliamp at a similar voltage. [New Scientist via Cleantech via DVICE]

Representative Massa made the 300 mile NY to DC trip in a car that has a maximum range of 200 miles. How? By enlisting the help of two SUVs to tow two fuel cell cars while not in use.

Massa drove one fuel cell car while a hybrid SUV [Chevy Tahoe] towing an additional SUV followed along. Once he got half way, he switched to new fuel cell car [which I assume was towed to the half way point sometime earlier so that it would be waiting for the environmentally-conscious congressman]. The empty fuel cell was then towed back by the first SUV. As he continued on his journey, the second SUV followed. Once Massa arrived in DC, the second SUV then towed the second fuel cell car back to NY.

So basically, one SUV traveled 400 miles and one SUV traveled 600 miles for a total of 1000 miles on a 300 mile trip. That's not even counting the mileage on the fuel cell car. Nice work there Captain Planet. [Famous DC via Boing Boing]

After all, the idea of carrying around in your bag a bunch of liquid methanol cartridges doesn't feel like a very good idea to me. On the other side, one single cartridge will give you 25 watt-hours of power, which is not too shabby. Not at all: According to Mobion, on single cartridge will be able to charge your average cellphone ten times. It would also allow o play 10,000 songs or 100 hours of video in an iPod, or take 6,000 pictures on a high end DSLR camera.

Definitely, we want.

Albany, N.Y., December 10, 2008 — MTI MicroFuel Cells ("MTI Micro"), the developer of the award-winning Mobion® off-the-grid portable power solutions and a subsidiary of Mechanical Technology, Incorporated ("MTI") (NASDAQ: MKTY) unveiled today a new product intent external power-pack prototype capable of providing up to 25 hours of on-the-go power with each cartridge. This compact and light weight fuel cell charger comes with a removable cartridge that can be swapped for a new one when depleted. Each additional cartridge gives consumers another 25 Watt-hours of power. With the Mobion® charger, for the first time, consumers can envision a world where power is instantly available where ever they are, when ever they need it.

Mobion® charger with removable cartridge delivers 25 hours of power to multiple devices on-the-go.

The new Mobion® self-sufficient power pack includes a USB interface, allowing the prototype to also be used as an independent energy source for a variety of purposes, including for recharging mobile phones, digital cameras, portable media players and other handheld electronic devices on the go.

With the amount of power from one small cartridge, the charger is designed to fully charge an average cell phone battery over 10 times; for an average user, this could power a cell phone for approximately one month, play 10,000 thousand songs or watch over 100 hours of video on their popular MP3 player, or take over 6000 pictures on a high end professional digital camera. In addition, the charger is designed with smooth edges for an easy grip comfortably fitting in the palm of one´s hand, and has interactive LED lights and easy-to-swap cartridges for intuitive use.

"Our Mobion® product strategy is in line with what consumers on-the-go need. On average, in the U.S., mobile professionals carry 3.4 portable electronic devices with them, and are now buying a universal charger to conveniently recharge all their device batteries." said Peng Lim, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MTI. "However, these conventional chargers still need to plug into an electrical outlet to recharge once the energy is used. Our Mobion® charger allows consumers to charge their devices anytime, anywhere by eliminating the need to plug their devices or Mobion charger into a wall outlet and wait for a recharge — our Mobion® charger generate electric power on the go and provides true mobility."

At the core of MTI Micro´s compact charger prototype is its proprietary third generation Mobion® Chip, a design architecture that embodies a reduction in the size, complexity, and cost of fuel cell construction. These changes drive improvements in reliability, manufacturability and low cost products. The Chip is based on 100% methanol fuel, passive, direct methanol fuel cell technology, and integrates a power module with fluid conditioning that allows the system to run in a wide environmental range including temperatures from 0oC to 40oC at any humidity level — an industry standard and a requirement of many OEMs who want to integrate fuel cells into their products. In laboratory testing, this third generation Mobion® Chip demonstrated power of over 62 mW/cm2 while producing more than 1800 Watt Hours Per Kilogram (Wh/kg) of energy from the direct methanol fuel feed.

"These chargers have been built using processes developed to increase throughput efficiency, intensify our testing, and increase reliability and consistency among units", said Jim Prueitt, Vice President of Engineering and Operations. "We are committed to ensure a process that delivers the engineering and manufacturing rigor necessary to make consistent, reliable products."

MTI Micro has plans to launch a product by the end of 2009 and pursue the consumer market with target applications which include hand-held communication, and other power-hungry portable electronic devices that can benefit from Mobion® extended run-time, cord-free rechargeable power packs with continuous access to power anytime, anywhere.

[MTI via Cnet]

The new kit—because it may look like a race car but let's be honest, it's a science edu-toy—still comes with the solar panel and hydrogen station so that you can use the sun's rays to convert H2O to H2 and O2. But the car itself now has glowing LEDs, responds to an IR remote, and runs longer and faster with the same amount of fuel. Taking a cue from auto makers and gas companies who release literally green advertisements to convince the public they aren't part of the problem, Horizon decided to change the car's translucent tint from blue to, yes, green. The difference, of course, is that Horizon definitely isn't part of the problem. Only time will tell, however, if they are part of the solution. Meantime, here's a fun Christmas gift for anyone that still has $120 to spend on progress! [Horizon via Gizmag]

The team says its new cathode, made of a conductive plastic called PEDOT, could be manufactured for just several hundred dollars. Even better, PEDOT is much more stable than platinum and doesn't have platinum's pesky clumping problems or aversion to carbon monoxide.

The researchers are now planning on building fuel cells with the cathode in 3D, to maximize the surface area available to generate a current. With this new breakthrough and the solar-charged process engineered by MIT scientists a few days ago, it's been kind of an awesome week for fuel cell science. [ABC via Treehugger]

The battery prototype was made by the R&D team at Sony Material Laboratory, which told spectators at the Small Fuel Cells 2008 expo that it was in talks with Sony's operation division to push the tech out soon. Looks like the day when our gadgets can stay unplugged and awake longer than we can might finally have arrived. [Tech On]

Looking at the gamut of fuel cells (and not just the methanol ones covered in the ruling), the FAA appears to be afraid that the little chemical powerplants might explode. According to an FAA report from April 2: "Fuel sources [in fuel cells] range from highly flammable to relatively inert."

In addition to standard evaluation, the FAA says it will conduct "flammability tests...on existing fuel cartridges." And not just on individual units. From what I can tell of this report, somewhere the FAA will soon, or already has, set fire to bulk containers of fuel cells, and tried to ignite fuel cells that are in operation, connected to laptops or other electronics:And I thought my job was fun. [Press Release on DOT Ruling; FAA PDF on Flammability Testing]

It's a wee device that hangs on the side of your mug, keeping your joe piping hot, just the way you like it. It even has "thermographic ink [that] changes color to indicate when the beverage is hot." Well, it would, at least, if it wasn't just a concept design. Damn you, concept designs, getting my hopes up for products that don't even exist! –Adam Frucci

Yanko Design [via MobileMag]

There are plenty of benefits to getting power this way when you're out in the field or the lines are down; it's lightweight, can last up to 11 hours on a single canister, and is totally environmentally friendly. The downside? A fully configured XRT system will set you back a whopping $8,000. That's a lot to pay for a portable generator, but as this tech becomes more affordable in the coming years look to see gasoline generators go the way of the Dodo. –Adam Frucci

Product Page [Jadoo Power]

Samsung and SAIT have developed this diminutive charger using fuel cell technology to ensure that you never run out of juice again. Simply pop in little methanol cartridges to keep the juice loose and you're set. You know, since methanol cartridges can be bought at the corner store and everything. Look for this technology to be hitting by 2009. –Adam Frucci

Daily Tech [via Oh Gizmo!]

If anyone can hit the original, let us know what's really up.

Maxell introduces Fuel Cell using Water and Aluminum [Treehugger]

Taiwan's Antig Technology and AVC Corp will be showing off a fuel cell for laptops at next week's CeBIT Trade Show. They're saying their fuel cell is production-ready and can go into laptops by the second half of this year.

While we here at Gizmodo love the idea of anything that allows us to stay outdoors for longer to write this blog, at least in warm weather, you'll have to pardon our strong (but loving) skepticism when it comes to fuel cells actually making it into consumer laptops anytime this year. After all, in 2003 NEC was saying fuel cell-powered laptops would be out in 2004 and that by 2006 they expected "the fuel cell to be much more efficient and run for almost 40 hours without needing a top-up." Ha! Toshiba's also been meaning to ship fuel cells in their laptops since 2004, but admitted at CeBIT 2005 that it'd probably be three more years before they could actually commercialize them.

Notebook-Ready Fuel Cell To Be Shown Next Week [ExtremeTech]
Toshiba shows fuel cell prototype [IDG News Service]
Fuel cell laptop promises long life [BBC News]

Called the Home Energy Station, it gins up hydrogen right there in your garage, converting it from readily-available natural gas. Not only would you be able to use that hydrogen for the vehicle, you could also use it in fuel cells that would provide electricity for your house as well. Tanks positioned under the car s trunk will hold enough hydrogen to keep its fuel cells humming for 350 miles. Honda says this system can save 50% on not only vehicle fuel bills, but household electricity, too.

By the way, also inside the Honda FCX concept car at the Detroit Auto Show was a 3D-rendering navigation system, whose point of view hovers at street level when you're turning, but returns to a bird s-eye view for long cruises. If the production vehicle is anywhere near as spectacular as this concept car, this I gotta see. No pricing available yet.

Hydrogen-Powered Honda FCX to go Into Production [Automotive News]