“On October 20, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a pair of patent applications from Apple that reveal their consideration if not right-out intention of shifting to fuel cell plate power for portables. While supplying more power in a smaller space, one of the side benefits may be a portable device’s resistance to water damage,” Jack Purcher reports for Patently Apple.

“Fuel cells provide electrical power by converting a source fuel, such as hydrogen or a hydrogen-containing compound, into an electric current and a waste product [such as carbon dioxide and/or water] by electrochemical means,” Purcher reports. “The use of fuel cells as power sources may be facilitated by improvements in the reliability, weight, and/or size of fuel cell stacks.”

Purcher reports, “The system may provide a power source to a portable electronic device, such as a mobile phone, laptop computer, portable media player, and/or peripheral device.”

Read more in the full article here.