The nation’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) on Friday unveiled a portable fuel cell that is believed to be the first in the world to use solid-state hydrogen.
The device combines solid-state hydrogen fuel, water and a catalyst in a bottle the size of a beverage can, and it can generate sufficient electricity to power laptops and LED lights, the researchers said, demonstrating the product at a news conference held at an ITRI research park in Tainan.
A fuel cartridge containing sodium borohydride is inserted into a small generator that weighs about 1kg and a chemical reaction takes place that produces hydrogen, they explained. The gas is then released back into the cartridge and generates power through the fuel cell in the cartridge, they added.
Photo: Lin Meng-ting, Taipei Times
“We store hydrogen in tablet form to make it more convenient to carry the fuel around, more user-friendly. We are the only facility in the world to successfully convert solid-state hydrogen into fuel,” said Ku Jie-ren, director of the institute’s New Energy Technology Division.
A cartridge can produce 20 watts, which is enough to charge five to seven cellphones or three or four laptops, the research team said. Any electronic product with a USB socket can use the device, it added.
The device, which took nearly five years to develop, is suitable for use in remote mountainous areas or after disasters, when power-charging opportunities are limited, the researchers said.
It would be especially useful during war time since the process is completely silent, the developers said, adding that one country’s armed forces have already shown interest in the invention.
The institute has commissioned a local manufacturer to begin mass producing the product later this month. The company also plans to raise the power generated by one cartridge to 40 watts.
The ultimate goal is to apply the technology in the automobile industry, Ku said.
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
Taiwan’s population last year shrank further and births continued to decline to a yearly low, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. The ministry published the 2024 population demographics statistics, highlighting record lows in births and bringing attention to Taiwan’s aging population. The nation’s population last year stood at 23,400,220, a decrease of 20,222 individuals compared to 2023. Last year, there were 134,856 births, representing a crude birth rate of 5.76 per 1,000 people, a slight decline from 2023’s 135,571 births and 5.81 crude birth rate. This decrease of 715 births resulted in a new record low per the ministry’s data. Since 2016, which saw
SECURITY: To protect the nation’s Internet cables, the navy should use buoys marking waters within 50m of them as a restricted zone, a former navy squadron commander said A Chinese cargo ship repeatedly intruded into Taiwan’s contiguous and sovereign waters for three months before allegedly damaging an undersea Internet cable off Kaohsiung, a Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) investigation revealed. Using publicly available information, the Liberty Times was able to reconstruct the Shunxing-39’s movements near Taiwan since Double Ten National Day last year. Taiwanese officials did not respond to the freighter’s intrusions until Friday last week, when the ship, registered in Cameroon and Tanzania, turned off its automatic identification system shortly before damage was inflicted to a key cable linking Taiwan to the rest of
RSS