Stop whatever you're doing and check out this $99 fuel cell-powered portable charger
posted by Peter K.
/ Jan 08, 2015, 8:43 AM
Chances are that 99% of all portable smartphone chargers you might bump into will rely on a Li-Ion battery to store all that spare juice. From time to time, however, an ingenious product arrives with the true potential to amaze us. Such a gadget is this new smartphone charger, which is currently looking for funding on Kickstarter.
See, it does not sport a battery inside, but a compact fuel cell, which will produce a steady electrical current by disintegrating chemicals leaving water and heat as by-products after the reaction. Simply put, it's a miniature power plant that can fit in your pockets. "Recharging" the kraftwerk powerbank takes just 3 seconds, which will henceforth enable you to fully charge your iPhone 11 times, as the Kickstarter page of the charger puts it. The charger is completely power grid-independent.
Its tank stores up to 200ml of fuel, which is enough to provide power output varies between 2W and 10W, which means that it will charge your device with a current that deviates between 400mA and 2,000mA, which is similar to what you normally get from most chargers. The willing adopters can back kraftwerk and score a fuel cell mobile charger for $99.
Meet the kraftwerk
source: Kickstarter via AndroidAuthority
22 Comments
1. gaara6775
Posts: 738; Member since: May 20, 2014
Design is sexy.
posted on Jan 08, 2015, 8:51 AM 3
2. XperiaFanZone
Posts: 2277; Member since: Sep 21, 2012
It seems dangerous.
posted on Jan 08, 2015, 8:54 AM 6
3. mafiaprinc3
Posts: 585; Member since: May 07, 2012
same thing came to mind! dangerous,might hear stories of it blowing up in handbags, or blowing peoples feet off. lets wait and see first. I like the design though
posted on Jan 08, 2015, 9:08 AM 3
4. jaytai0106
Posts: 1888; Member since: Mar 30, 2011
It's power plant not power plat. :D
But this thing is pretty neat.
posted on Jan 08, 2015, 9:11 AM 2
5. peace247 unregistered
Which fuel.? How much will the fuel cost..?
posted on Jan 08, 2015, 9:25 AM 1
6. peace247 unregistered
Which fuel.? How much will the fuel cost..?
posted on Jan 08, 2015, 9:25 AM 0
7. peace247 unregistered
Which fuel.? How much will the fuel cost..?
posted on Jan 08, 2015, 9:25 AM 0
8. garlic456
Posts: 251; Member since: Dec 24, 2012
I think this will have the same sound as a gas powered chain saw.
posted on Jan 08, 2015, 9:26 AM 1
16. Captain_Doug
Posts: 1037; Member since: Feb 10, 2012
It runs on butane. Like a lighter. It's not an engine.
posted on Jan 08, 2015, 11:27 AM 2
9. manuel1992
Posts: 10; Member since: Sep 18, 2013
I stopped sex to check out this
posted on Jan 08, 2015, 9:28 AM 5
10. Slammer
Posts: 1515; Member since: Jun 03, 2010
Doesn't it strike everyone a little suspicious that seal in batteries where we can't replace them, and we are bombarded with these charging accessories to underscore the problem with batteries?
I've said it until I'm blue in the face. We shouldn't be sealing archaic powercell technology into modern day power house devices until the battery technology has made far better advances.
All we are doing is placing a bandaid on a wound. We are not fixing the problem. It's just the manufacturers creating a pacifier for the consumer. What happens when these accessories no longer charge your device because the battery is toast?
John B.
posted on Jan 08, 2015, 9:33 AM 3
17. Diablo2424
Posts: 30; Member since: Jun 29, 2011
I too have been saying this for a few years now... we need to take the good scientists we have out there and dedicate them to improving our battery technology! Battery technology in this world is pathetic, it's old, outdated and with these powerful (see: quad/octa-core CPU's like Tegra X1 and Snapdragon 815) electronics nowadays, we need to figure out better ways of powering them.
Wireless charging and rapid charging are great bandaid's as well as charge packs like this one, but as you said, it's just that, a bandaid.
posted on Jan 08, 2015, 12:07 PM 1
13. o0Exia0o
Posts: 903; Member since: Feb 01, 2013
Yet another kickstarter scam on people who don't know better....When will people learn, if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is...I hope too many people don't lose their money on this one...Here is some interesting reading on fuel cell technology though:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_cell
posted on Jan 08, 2015, 10:06 AM 1
18. moronman66
Posts: 162; Member since: Jan 09, 2012
Anyone else notice the name ends in "twerk"? I hope it's not too late to change their name o.o
posted on Jan 08, 2015, 12:12 PM 1
