Battery Fueled by Air, Solar Powered Cell Phone

World's first battery fuelled by air
The world's first battery fuelled by air - with 10 times the storage capacity of conventional cells - has been unveiled.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/science/sciencenews/5353809/Worlds-first-battery-fuelled-by-air.html

Scientists say the revolutionary 'STAIR' (St Andrews Air) battery could now pave the way for a new generation of electric cars, laptops and mobile phones.

The cells are charged in a traditional way but as power is used or 'discharged' an open mesh section of battery draws in oxygen from the surrounding air.

This oxygen reacts with a porous carbon component inside the battery, which creates more energy and helps to continually 'charge' the cell as it is being discharged.

By replacing the traditional chemical constituent, lithium cobalt oxide, with porous carbon and oxygen drawn from the air, the cell is much lighter than current batteries.

And as the cycle of air helps re-charge the battery as it is used, it has a greater storage capacity than other similar-sized cells and can emit power up to 10 times longer.

Professor Peter Bruce of the Chemistry Department at the University of St Andrews, said: "The benefits are it's much smaller and lighter so better for transporting small applications.

"The size is also crucial for anyone trying to develop electric cars as they want to keep weight down as much as possible.

"Storage is also important in the development of green power. You need to store electricity because wind and solar power is intermittent."

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Japanese to unveil solar-powered mobile phone
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/5197936/Japanese-to-unveil-solar-powered-mobile-phone.html

The new phone is a waterproof, sunlight-powered device which will be sold by the Japanese mobile phone company KDDI from June.

Ten minutes of explosure to sunlight is sufficient for a one minute call or to power the handset in standby mode for two hours.

As much as 80 per cent of the battery of the handset, a collaboration with manufacturers Sharp Corp, can be recharged entirely by sunlight as a result of storage technology embedded in the front face of the phone, according to manufacturers.

Marketed as a “green” eco-friendly alternative to conventional mobile phone handsets, the company claims that the device’s lack of dependence on standard electricity will help reduce carbon dioxide emission levels.

The new handset is the latest in an increasingly competitive global race among mobile phone companies to produce “eco friendly” devices.

Two months ago, the Korean company Samsung Electronics unveiled a solar-powered mobile phone made from recycled plastic from water bottles.

While the company claimed it was the world’s first solar-powered mobile phone device, it did not state when it would go on sale.

Meanwhile, in January, Motorola described its new W233 Renew, also made from recycled water bottles, as the world’s first carbon neutral mobile phone.

A solar-powered mobile phone that can be entirely operated by exposure to sunlight is to be launched this summer in Japan.