A sleek new device could help you charge your phone without an electrical outlet.
Swedish startup MyFC unveiled its cutting-edge technology, dubbed JAQ, at CES on January 6. The device, which is small enough to fit in your pocket, is a fuel cell charger. It uses seawater and oxygen to convert chemical energy into electricity. It then uses that electricity to charge your phone's battery
The charger consists of a credit card-shaped “power card” and a hollow port that’s about the size of a smartphone. The card contains seawater, which generates electricity from chemical reactions when you insert the card into the port. To get that electricity into battery , you can simply plug your phone into the port with a standard cable.
A JAQ power card produces about 1,800 milliamp-hours (mAH) of electricity – that’s enough energy to fully charge an iPhone 6S. Larger devices, such as tablets, can also be charged with fuel cells, but will require more than one power card to fully charge. Power cards that contain salt water are good for a single use. After that, they stop producing the chemical reactions necessary to generate electricity.
The device works by combining two reactants, in this case hydrogen and oxygen, inside an enclosed space. Hydrogen atoms from seawater in the power card enter the fuel cells (there are 10 fuel cells in the card) at the anode, where a “chemical reaction strips them of electrons,” MyFC explains on its website. Those electrons then provide the current that powers the phone or tablet that’s connected to the JAQ.
Once the hydrogen atoms lose their electrons, they become positively charged hydrogen ions and are able to move through the fuel cell’s electrolyte – a membrane-like substance that restricts the movement of ions in the cell. At the cathode end of the cell, oxygen from the air enters and combines with the hydrogen ions that left the electrolyte, and the electrons return from the electrical circuit. This reaction results in a completely harmless by-product: water (H2O).
The JAQ isn't available for purchase yet, but the company expects the product to be ready for shipping later this year. When it goes on sale, MyFC hopes to implement a subscription service. Customers will sign up to receive a set number of power cards each month for phone . Individual cards will also be available for purchase and will likely cost about $1.50 each, a company spokesperson told Live Science.
