Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2016: JAQ’s salt water charger to power up phone

JAQ developed by Swedish developers the world’s smallest fuel cell, and can charge your mobile phone batteries when you’re on and off the grid. The new Fuel cell uses just water and salt to power the portable charger and can fit in your back pocket or purse. After each single-use PowerCard generates enough green electricity to fully charge your smart phone and is made from recycled materials.  The JAQ fuel cell never requires an outlet, instead it works by inserting the PowerCard, which contains salt and water, into the charger. After inserting the card, the JAW is then connected to the smartphone or other device with a USB cable. Inside the cell, the water and salt will react to produce hydrogen, which will charge at the same rate as the power from an outlet generating 1800 mAh for each card.

According to  Bjorn Westerholm CEO of MyFC,  “Mobile accessibility is critical for all and the demand for charging solutions for mobile phones, tablets and cameras are increasing. The miniature size of both the fuel and charger allows for the charger to be slimmer and truly makes energy available whenever you need it. The cell is completely portable, and was developed with “on-the-go” and is travel certified and complies with international airplane regulations”.

The device uses an external supply of fuel,  which is salt and water along with an oxidant, oxygen or air and uses proton exchange membrane (PEM) as an electrolyte which carries electrically charged ions between electrodes and also uses a catalyst to speed up the reactions. Oxygen combines with the returning electrons and hydrogen ions, and water is formed.