On demand
Canadian team develops hydrogen generator with a view to powering take-anywhere chargers and battery replacements for mobiles, PDAs and laptops. Siobhan Wagner reports.
A Canadian research group has developed a hydrogen generator that can be used to provide electricity for applications as wide ranging as mobile phone battery rechargers and cellular transmission towers.
Called HyPOD (Hydrogen Power on Demand) the device removes the need for safe storage of explosive and flammable hydrogen gas by making it available only when needed.
The generator consists of a tank containing water and two electrodes — an anode and a cathode, made of different metal alloys and with different electrode potential (ability to lose electrons). When a switch is turned on, this difference causes a current to flow through the water electrolyte. That starts an electrochemical reactions between anode, cathode and water, so that both electrodes generate hydrogen gas. When the switch is turned off, hydrogen production stops.
The electrodes will eventually be used up in this chemical reaction, and the dissolved by-product of hydroxide ions can be re-used for other purposes.
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