Powering Up Mobile Phones
We have been thinking of doing this for a long while, you know, writing about next-generation battery technologies for cellies. Well, we’ve just found a shortcut to the topic that covers some of the basics. WWJ watchers will have noted that Fujitsu has just become the latest Japanese IDM to announce a methanol fuel cell replacement for even Hitachi Maxell’s new Lithium Ion option. There is an interesting feature story of the market at NE Asia online.
In many ways, NEC was actually the first Japanese company to cough up a convincing fuel cell option back in February 2003, once Dr. Iijima’s crew decided that carbon nanotubes are actually too fiddly to replace semiconductor transistors until about the year 3000. (We note the WSTS roadmap always seems to pull in scaling targets, while nanotube makers are pushing out the switch to carbon circuits timeframe.) NEC has gone a bit bashful recently about exactly when fuel cells (don’t spill!) get into mobile phones, but they are still plugging away. Take a look at this Nikkei story for a half-decent roundup of what’s happening. We say: “Live Long and Prosper!”
— WWJ Editors