PowerTrekk is a pocket size, lightweight charger for users who spend time away from the electricity grid. Providing instant power anywhere, PowerTrekk uses advanced fuel cell technology which cleanly and efficiently converts hydrogen into electricity. With its rugged, waterproof casing and robust technology on the inside, PowerTrekk is designed to match demanding requirements.
PowerTrekk is a 2-in-1 solution that is both a portable battery pack and fuel cell. The portable battery pack can be operated on its own as a ready source of power or storage buffer for the fuel cell. The fuel cell enables instant charging from a depleted battery state without ever needing a wall charge. Users simply insert a fuel pack and add water. To charge portable devices – for example iPhones, iPods, iPads, cameras and GPS devices – users simply connect to Power Trekk via a USB port.
PowerPukk is the fuel pack used for PowerTrekk fuel cell based charging. Users simply insert the PowerPukk fuel pack and add water to provide instant and limitless power on the go. Unlike solar chargers, fuel cell power is generated quickly (no waiting for sun harvesting) and reliably (speed of charging is not impacted by weather, solar position etc. and no power degradation like batteries). PowerPukk fuel packs will be available in 5-pack Tube, 10-pack Tube and 24 ct Tray.
“PowerTrekk has a competitive edge over traditional portable chargers. Fuel cell power is generated immediately and charging is not impacted by weather or the position of the sun, as for solar panels. Compared to battery powered travel chargers, PowerTrekk offers reliable charging as the fuel packs do not deplete as batteries do,” said Björn Westerholm, CEO at myFC, the company behind PowerTrekk, in the press release.
myFC is a Swedish fuel cell technology company that develops solutions for powering portable electronics. Having secured numerous patents around proprietary shape-flexible fuel cell systems with record high power density, PowerTrekk is the first commercial portable charger using myFC technology. Since the hydrogen fuel can be supplied from several alternative sources, the system is “flexifuel”. The chemistry process is safe and eco-friendly, and the only by-product from the fuel cell is a little water vapor.
No price has yet been disclosed. myFC promises they will disclose retailers shortly.
More info here.
Source: myFC
No word on price?
Is this one of those “if you have to ask, you can’t afford it” products?
You had to ask, didn’t you 😉
Not a lot of information available about some critical details.
How long does that tablespoonful of water provide power? Can you add more water for more power, or must you replace the used PowerPukk with a new one before adding more water?
How long does that PowerPukk last? Is the PowerPukk reusable or just a one-off disposable?
I am leery of new tech with scant details. Usually, that means they are uncertain of how the details will impact initial acceptance, because it may perform poorly.
If they haven’t priced it yet, it’s not in production. Don’t hold your breath waiting for this vaporware.
I like the way Apple announces a product, with a price, date and they demo it along with specs and specific details. Companies can learn from Apple’s very successful product announcement procedures. CES had a lot of vaporware a lot of the vaporware products never make it to production.
I wish to correct the comments above. This is not vaporware. It’s water-vaporware. That makes it significantly more green than other vaporware.
There. I feel better now.
“… instant and limitless power on the go.”
Limitless…hmmm. Thermodynamic laws still apply, and water is a stable compound. Fuel is being consumed or this thing is a perpetual motion device. How much energy (Wh) does a PowerPukk provide (assuming water refills, as necessary), and what are its peak and average power characteristics?
Dodging the question of price, for now, how is the PowerPukk recycled? I was hoping for big things from zinc-air batteries because zinc is plentiful, zinc oxide is fairly harmless, and zinc oxide can easily be reprocessed into zinc using energy from renewable resources – water, wind, solar.
This doesn’t make sense to me. Can someone explain how this works?
Every hydrogen fuel cell I’ve heard of uses pure hydrogen as fuel, combines it with oxygen from the air and creates energy and water as a biproduct.
But this uses water as fuel? How does that work? I thought it takes energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, not create energy. And pure hydrogen would be a biproduct? That sounds dangerous, given how easily hydrogen combines with other chemicals in high energy reactions.
There are also methanol based fuel cells. The hydrogen is in the methanol.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_methanol_fuel_cell
According to info from their web site, it’s in their patented sticker technology.?
How many Amp-Hours per Pukk? That is the question. How much does a Pukk weigh? This product seems complete except for technical details.
This is a fuel cell, so it uses hydrogen that combines with oxygen though a membrane that catch the energy liberated by the process.
You pour water in the container (Half an ounce?) that, by electrolysis (i suppose) separates hydrogen an oxygen and it uses hydrogen, giving oxygen as a by product (also water).
I have yet to hear any logical explanation that comes close to convincing me this is real.
I thought this might have been a major scientific breakthrough, but it turns out to be just vaporware.
I’m concluding that this a fictional product, on the grounds that a water powered fuel cell is physically impossible.
@Correction,
Well that just steams me!
No Forest Gump. I am a fuel cell engineer with 15 patents, over half of which are in fuel cell-related technology. The PowerPukk is not an electrolysis cell. Converting water (which is an exhaust) back into hydrogen and oxygen *consumes* energy and doesn’t create energy.
There are any number of solids that, when you add water, release hydrogen. Whatever these PowerPukks are, they are…
1) A consumable
2) Not resusable
3) Not cheap
Remember, a fuel cell is just a gaseous battery. Just like a primary cell like a D-cell alkaline battery (which is an electrochemical reaction between manganese dioxide and zinc), the hydrogen and oxygen also react galvanically in order to electrochemically produce electricity.
Don’t rush off and buy one of these things just because it has “fuel cell” in its name. Just like about six years ago when “titanium” was a buzzword to add to a zillion consumer items (including razor blades, which is a retarded application for such a soft metal), fuel cells are also a buzzword.
Want a helpful suggestion? Take a look at the watt•hours you can get out of a couple of D cells. Divide the cost of those two D cells. Then compare that to the $/(W•Hr) of a PowerPukk.
My bet is that you’ll just carry around D cells and a special adapter.
How long will it take me to drive my Subaru to the moon?
I don’t see what would make using a “PowerPukk” better than a battery, unless they are significantly cheaper and more environmentally friendly. Nice to see someone developing in this area, though.