Dr Sukhvinder Badwal's CSIRO research team is currently developing a compact,lightweight battery that could power a laptop computer for up to 24 hours, or a mobile phone for up to a month, before requiring a recharge. This lightweight battery infact, is not a battery at all, but a tiny, polymer-electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell that
produces electricity electrochemically, by reacting hydrogen or methanol with oxygen.
The reaction reproduces the chemistry of combustion, but runs "cool", at just a few degrees above room temperature.
Compared with a traditional power source, fuel cells hav…
