Alternative energy storage ready to power portable devices

The so-called "limitations" of rechargeable batteries have given rise to industries hoping to either replace batteries altogether, or augment them to increase their energy density. Portable devices and motive applications (such as transportation) are pushing new developments in battery chemistries, particularly lithiumbased technologies. The lithiumsulfur, lithium-ion and lithiumpolymer communities have made "significant innovations" recently, which could exceed marketplace expectations. The alternative energy storage industry is not standing still, however. Companies are making products that are ready to fill in where batteries leave off.

Some of these "new"products are not really new. Fuel cells have been around for a long time, although their application in portable devices is fairly recent. Ultracapacitors are finding new uses as an adjunct to batteries. Carbon nanotubes and thin-film batteries are just emerging and could find niche markets. And hybrid battery solutions are taking the route of combining technologies to address "power hungry devices."
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Micro fuel cells are expected to function similarly to batteries, but with a performance potential for energy storage and power delivery that far exceeds current Li-ion and Li-polymer batteries. In order for fuel cells to become commercially viable, however, they must compete on price, weight, reliability, availability and performance at the same time that more manufacturers are providing lithium batteries at reduced pricing. Fuel cells are being developed for several applications, with camcorders and notebook computers being likely "first candidates." Widespread commercial adoption has been pushed out to 2007, when 1.0 million units could be sold for portable devices worldwide. This could then increase to 1.4 million units by 2010, a compound annual growth rate of 9.8%, according to Darnell Group's (www.darnell.com) recent update to the "Power Packs for Portable Electronic Devices" report.

EXPERIMENTATION STAGES
Small fuel cell technology is in the stage of experimentation and prototype production, although there are many companies and organizations working on making this technology practical for commercial use. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT) (www.ntt.co.jp) has developed a prototype micro polymerelectrolyte fuel cell that uses hydrogen gas as a fuel and is small enough to directly fit in a mobile phone. Millennium Cell (www.millenniumcell.com) unveiled a fuel cell at the recent Intel Developers Conference that it says can run a notebook computer for eight hours. The company's goal is to produce fuel cells for notebook manufacturers by 2007.

Toshiba Corp. (www.toshiba.com) announced a prototype of a highly compact, direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) that opens the way to the use of DMFC as an alternative power source to recharge batteries for personal devices as small as cellphones, digital still cameras, PDAs and mobile TVs. They achieved the miniaturization necessary for a fuel cell for use with handheld products by minimizing the size of auxiliary parts, such as the fuel tank, the liquid and air transmission pumps, the interface and electric circuits and the dc/dc converter.

Despite these efforts, a number of technological breakthroughs and cost reduction procedures must be developed and refined. Although DMFCs have tremendous potential in this market, their penetration into the rechargeable battery pack industry is not expected until later in this decade, and then in only a few applications, such as notebook computers or camcorders.

A number of small companies are developing thin-film batteries to address the small form factors required of many portable devices. Power Paper Ltd. (www.powerid.com), Infinite Power Solutions (www.infinitepowersolutions.com), Cymbet Corp. (www.cymbet.com), Excellatron Solid State (www.excellatron.com), and VoltaFlex (www.voltaflex.com) are developing products for portable computing, medical, telephony devices, medical, RFID, and smart cards.

For example, Cymbet has the Power Fab battery system, which is a flexible, thin-film, high-energy density, solid-state battery designed for semiconductor applications, R-F identification, medical electronics, smart cards, military applications and aerospace. Cymbet recently raised $16.5 million in a second round of private equity financing, which included Intel Capital. Infinite Power Solutions makes the Lite*Star battery, which can be manufactured in small chip-like formats or flexible formats, depending on the application. Lite*Star is most suited to applications requiring capacities in the micro-milli amp-hr range and with maximum current loads of 20 to 40mA.

TECHNOLOGIES
Hybrid battery solutions come in a variety of technologies. Many are used in transportation applications. East Penn Manufacturing Co. Inc. (www.eastpenndeka.com) announced plans to jointly develop a hybrid battery/ fuel cell electric "engine" with Nuvera Fuel Cells. East Penn will work with Nuvera to create a new hybrid engine for powering lift trucks and other off-road industrial vehicles used in the material handling and the airport ground support sectors.

For more traditional portable applications, Techtium Ltd. (www.techtium.com) recently signed a joint cooperation agreement with Energizer (www.energizer.com) to jointly pursue the development and marketing of innovative hybrid battery solutions for cellular, audio, computer and other portable electronic devices. The two companies hope to leverage their combined strengths for the development of hybrid battery solutions that can provide extended battery life and power by drawing on a device's existing rechargeable battery, as well as a secondary battery system, either primary or rechargeable, which would utilize Techtium's integrated chip and hybrid battery technology.

Some hybrid battery systems are being designed for specific, portable markets. Tadiran Batteries (www.tadiranbat.com) has developed a hybrid battery which uses lithium-thionyl chloride chemistry in tandem with a unique Hybrid Layer Capacitor. These hybrid cells can supply pulses measured in amps, whereas standard lithium-thionyl chloride cells can only supply milli-amps. These hybrid batteries are designed for the newest generation of automatic meter reading devices, which are pushing the limit of the current lithium-thionyl batteries.

Ultracapacitor manufacturers are aiming to augment batteries by increasing power and longevity. Maxwell Technologies' (www.maxwell.com) BOOSTCAP ultracapacitors claim to deliver up to 10 times the power and longevity of batteries. The company introduced 15V BOOSTCAP ultracapacitor packs and modules that provide easy-to-integrate energy storage and power delivery solutions for a wide range of consumer and industrial electronics and transportation applications.

SPECIFIC MARKETS
Most companies making alternative energy storage products are targeting specific markets that are likely to benefit from the added features of the technology. Traditional battery chemistries are still the least expensive choice, so alternative solutions need to provide features that justify the often-increased cost. This can mean supplying products to military and medical markets, which have government or other regulatory requirements and can absorb the extra costs.

As noted above, however, volume production is often key to getting any alternative technology into the commercial mainstream. Only time will determine the success of these new products against the existing, traditional battery solutions.