IBM and Sanyo develop Fuel Cells For Notebooks (moved from ATSNN), page 1

IBM and Sanyo have proposed to develop a micro direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) battery for IBM Thinkpad notebooks as early as 2007.

www.informationweek.com
TOKYO — Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. and IBM Japan will collaborate to develop a micro direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) system for IBM's ThinkPad notebooks.

The collaboration will continue after IBM's PC business is transferred to China's Lenovo Group Ltd. in the second quarter.

Sanyo and IBM said they will introduce the power system as early as 2007, when the two companies expect that regulations and rules will have been amended so that use of direct methanol fuel cells becomes easy. For example, rules would be needed to take methanol onboard aircraft.

IBM has been a steady customer for Sanyo's rechargeable batteries for its ThinkPad. Sanyo proposed the latest collaboration, said Mitsuru Honma, president of Sanyo Mobile Energy Company. The two companies developed a hybrid fuel cell system prototype that combines a micro DMFC and a lithium-ion battery.

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Laptops operating on Methanol fuel. Not sure why they would develop such abstract technology. Lithium Ion Batteries seem to be sufficient enough to power laptops for hours on end. Now we have Thinkpads powered by...alcohol?

[edit on 4/13/2005 by Simulacra]