Here’s a thing to help you stay online during loadshedding: a portable battery powerpack about the size and width of a Christmas card that stores enough power to recharge an iPhone 6 Plus and can be refilled with water.
Sounds promising? It’s exactly what the prototype Jaq from Swedish firm myFC looks and performs like. The only minor drawback is that you can’t fill it with water from a tap…The Jaq itself is a solidly built shell that will easily fit in your pocket, which contains a hydrogen fuel cell capable of generating electricity when it’s filled with a mix of water and a catalysing salt. It’s easily pocket sized and has a single sealed USB port at the bottom for output.
The fuel itself comes in a card-thin cartridge which contains the liquid mix. You just drop it in the top, and the cell is ready to start powering something else.
The bad news is that the cartridges aren’t refillable – once used you have to recycle them with your other household plastic. myFC argues that this is still “green” because the cartridges are all made from recycled plastic in the first place.
A single cartridge has a 2 400mAh charge, which is more than an iPhone, less than some flagship Android models. It’s expected to be released towards the end of this year.
In terms of cost, myFC reckons it’ll get the basic price to below $100 (R1 175) for the Jaq and five refills, then each refill will cost around $1.50, depending on whether they’re bought in bulk or not.
The price may yet be a stumbling block – each charge is expensive compared to carrying a lithium battery backup recharged from the mains. Still, if you can adapt it to keep your router up all night it might be worthwhile.
myFC’s previous portable fuel cell, the myFC PowerTrekk 2, is designed for camping and outdoors use, but is slightly more complex to use (you have to provide your own water). At 149 Euros (R2 000) it’s proven hard for the Swedish firm to find an interested distributor here.
As a vision of the future, however, and a day when all our gadgets might be run off of small refillable fuel cells, it’s utterly mesmerising.
