Professor Abhaya Datye, Director of the University of New Mexico's Center for Micro-Engineered Materials, is investigating a way to free "outlet vampires" from their troubles.
The idea is simple. Design a battery that lasts 20 hours and runs on methanol or wood-grain alcohol. In this battery, the methanol is transformed into hydrogen, which is then fed into a fuel cell to create electricity. When the battery is spent, you'd simply plug in a fresh methanol cartridge.
But, don't go rushing to the store just yet. This idea, Datye noted at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Frontiers in Catalysis Science and Engineering Seminar Series, relies on researchers finding an affordable catalyst that can quickly and efficiently turn methanol into hydrogen.
I want one. To read the rest of the article, click here.