Tommy’s Blogg

In keeping with its penchant for innovation in the mobile space, Samsung has announced the development of a cell phone that is powered by a fuel cell that uses water to begin the chemical process.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ research center developed the fuel cell and water-induced process.

How It Works

When the mobile is turned on, metal and the water that has been added to the phone react to produce hydrogen gas. The gas is then sent to the fuel cell where it reacts with oxygen in the air to generate power.

The micro fuel cell and hydrogen generator can charge mobile devices for 10 hours (about 3 watts), and uses just ordinary water to start the chemical process.

“If the user uses the phone for four hours a day on average, they would have to change the hydrogen cartridge about every five days,” Oh Yong-soo, vice president of Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ research center, said. “Later handsets will be developed that don’t need the hydrogen cartridges to be changed, and would only need to be filled with water.”

Coming (Relatively) Soon

According to Samsung, water-powered handsets are expected to hit the market by 2010.