IBM have teamed up with electronics giant Sanyo and unveiled plans for a fuel cell system for IBM ThinkPad notebooks. Based on existing Sanyo designs, the companies developed a prototype "methanol filled" fuel cell system that can supply up to 8 hours of power for existing and future ThinkPad models.
Unlike other prototype fuel cell systems that require a modified laptop to fit fuel cell batteries, Sanyo's system was designed to be compatible with current ThinkPad models, without the need to alter the notebook design.
The fuel cell system could enable ThinkPad notebooks to run intensive applications such as multimedia and graphics programs, without draining the battery power.
Peter Hortensius, vice president of IBM Personal Computing said,
"There are a number of vendors developing fuel cell battery prototypes for PCs and mobile devices, but the combination of IBM's first-class ThinkPad notebooks and Sanyo's leadership position in the technology will accelerate research and development in the field. We do not focus simply on the 'wow factor' of fuel cells - we see it as a powerful enabler that could support a wide variety of business applications."
A two minute video demonstration (3.8MB) of the fuel cell design is available for download.
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