Unlimited Water-Based Gadget Power from PowerTrekk

January 30th, 2012 by Zachary Shahan

We don’t write on far-into-the-future concept technologies and gadgets much here on CleanTechnica. We like to focus on the “here and now” options (which could already power the world and stop global warming) and innovative “breakthrough” technologies that look like they are definitely going to go somewhere.

But,.. wait a second,… those things pictured above are actually supposed to hit the U.S. market this year!

First off, you are probably wondering, what the heck are they.. and how do they work?

Well, you can check out the explanations in the images below (click to enlarge them), but here’s some straight text, too:

Those are the new PowerTrekk portable, water-powered fuel-cell chargers from Sweden’s myFC. They debuted at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

“Fuel-cell technology uses the chemical reaction between the hydrogen in water and special electrodes and electrolytes in fuel cells to generate electricity,” Lance Ulanoff of Mashable notes.

“What’s better is that fuel cells never deplete — as long as you have hydrogen gas produced by water to flow through them, they can deliver an endless supply of cheap electricity. The energy technology has been around for years and numerous companies have tried to commercialize it, even promising shipping products within weeks, months or years. So far, however, none of us are carrying around a pack of fuel cells and a bottle of water, confident we’ll enjoy a full charge on all our devices for a day or more.”

As you can see in the image above, the PowerTrekk comes with two USB ports (a micro port and a standard port), and some necessary fuel cell components.

For anyone concerned about safety, “myFC notes that the recyclable PowerPukk’s are made of materials that prevent corrosion and more importantly, leakage.”

As mentioned above, the PowerTrekk is supposed to hit U.S. markets this year—sometime in May or June, to be precise. From Lance: “PowerTrekk will list for $299 when it goes on sale in the U.S. A three-pack of PowerPukk’s will run you $12. ”

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Tags: ces, consumer electronics, Fuel Cells, myFC, powertrekk

About the Author

Zachary Shahan spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as the director/chief editor. Otherwise, he's probably enthusiastically fulfilling his duties as the director/editor of Solar Love, EV Obsession, Planetsave, or Bikocity. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and wind energy expert. If you would like him to speak at a related conference or event, connect with him via social media. You can connect with Zach on any popular social networking site you like. Links to all of his main social media profiles are on ZacharyShahan.com.

http://cleantechnica.com/ Zachary Shahan

Thanks for the detail and follow-up. Checking the links.
dcmeserve

Huh?

First — the image links don’t work.

Second — what is this thing doing? You buy a “puck” that I guess contains the hydrogen — but then what’s the water for? Also, on their own web site, they say you don’t need the puck because this device contains a normal rechargeable battery as well as the fuel cell stuff.

So, what’s the difference between this thing and any other external battery pack?

On their web site, they say their “puck” provides 4 watt-hours of energy. For comparison, an average alkaline AA battery provides at least 2 watt-hours of energy. So the 3 pucks that $12 gets you equals the energy of at least 6 AA batteries. I think I could go out and buy a few more than 6 AAs for $12… and I don’t think an adapter for AAs would cost $300, either.
- dcmeserve
  
  I should have said “at most 6 AA batteries”.
- http://cleantechnica.com/ Zachary Shahan
  
  images work fine for me.
  
  & it seems you didn’t read the article if you don’t know what the things does.
Bob

Hmmmmm…..”….A three-pack of PowerPukk’s will run you $12″. Sign me up!!