Apple patent looks at fuel cell system for portable device

James Titcomb, Telegraph technology news editor, said thepatent application suggests a number of different energy sources.

He said that "the energy could come from 'a fuel cartridge which is detachably affixed to the fuel cell system', meaning rather than recharging, one would simply replace the device'scartridge when it had run out."

Ben Lovejoy in 9to5Mac also talked about the replacing aspect. "There is, of course, no such thing as a free lunch, and fuel cell systems require the fuel to be replenished once it is exhausted, which the patent addresses by referencing removable cartridges."

The patent said that "Exemplary fuels that can be used with a hydrolysis reaction can include: Sodium Borohydride, Sodium Silicate, Lithium Hydride, Magnesium Hydride, Lithium Borohydride and Lithium Aluminum Hydride."

The fuel, said the inventors, may also take the form of pure hydrogen (e.g., compressed hydrogen gas or liquid hydrogen). In that case, "the fuel cartridge may contain components such as a metering device (e.g., a valve) and a pressure gauge. Ideally, the fuel has a relatively low life cycle carbon footprint, is not toxic, and generates a waste product that is amenable to being repeatedly re-charged with hydrogen and is not toxic."

The title of the patent is "Fuel Cell System to Power a Portable Computing Device" and it was filed in March this year by Apple. The application lists six California-based inventors.