I’ve talked about the possibility of the Apple iPhone using hydrogen fuel cell batteries before. Shortly after Steven Jobs died I had stated that this may be one of his legacies yet to be realized.
Unlike normal lithium batteries that need to be recharged often, as in every day for many users, hydrogen batteries can go weeks without being recharged. This got me to thinking of what the near future may look like for early adopters of hydrogen technology.
An early adopter would certainly have an Android or iPhone powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. The early adopter may also have a home hydrogen fueling station in their garage and drive to work in a hydrogen fuel cell car.
The early adopter may also go to a workplace that is hydrogen fuel cell friendly such as one that uses fuel cell forklifts, buses, trucks or even prototype cars. The early adopter may work in a building powered by hydrogen fuel cells or at least this may be the backup power.
Not only will the early adopter’s cell phone be powered by fuel cell but their cell phone tower will be as well. Also, their web host, any data centers they use and many buildings they frequent may also be powered by stationary hydrogen fuel cell.
Finally, the early adopter will come home to a house powered by a stationary hydrogen fuel cell. They may have a solar panel / hydrogen fuel cell combination at work or another source of energy such as wind turbine, geothermal energy or micro hydro.
Steve Jobs, (may he rest in peace), was such a futurist that he knew what people wanted before we knew we wanted it. One of his last acts on Earth was to push for the new Apple products to be powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.
If in some fantasy world Steve Jobs would come back to life 10 years from now, I think he would only be slightly surprised at how many wheels are turning on the power of hydrogen fuel cells.