Portable
For more on portable fuel cells, see the FCHEA's Portable Power Brochure
Portable fuel cells provide power on the go, often in place of batteries or generators. Small fuel cell packs aimed at prolonging the life of cell phones, laptops, and other personal electronic devices are already on the market today. Fuel cells have nearly ten times the power density of batteries, meaning they prolong the life of laptops from hours to days and cell phones from days to weeks, without taking up any additional space.

Fuel cells are also very different from batteries in their use. While batteries take time and a power source to recharge, fuel cells can run as long as fuel is available. Since portable fuel cells cannot be connected to a fixed fuel line like stationary fuel cells, they are usually powered by replaceable fuel cartridges. When one cartridge runs out of power, a new one can be swapped in instantaneously. Cartridges can then be refilled by the consumer or recycled and purchased anew at a cost comparable to batteries.

Larger portable fuel cells are already used for camping, RVs, and power needs in remote locations. A fuel cell cartridge for an RV system weighs just 5% as much as a battery of equal capacity.
For more information on Portable Fuel Cell Applications, see our Fact Sheet and Portable Power Brochure below:
Portable Power Brochure
| Department of Energy (DOE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program and Vehicle Technologies Program Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting (AMR) |
| May 13-17, 2013 | Washington, DC | 16th Annual Congressional Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency EXPO + Forum |
| Wednesday - June 12 9:30 am - 4:30 pm | Washington, DC | Hydrogen + Fuel Cells 2013 (HFC2013) |
| June 16-19, 2013 | Vancouver, British Columbia | Alternative Clean Transportation 2013 (ACTEXPO 2013)![]() |
| June 24-27, 2013 | Washington, D.C. | 5th International Conference on Hydrogen Safety (ICHS2013) |
| September 9 - 11, 2013 | Brussels, Belgium | World Hydrogen Technologies Convention (WHTC) |
| September 25 - 28, 2013 | Shanghai, China | 2013 Fuel Cell Seminar & Energy Exposition |
| October 21-24, 2013 | Ohio | Electric Vehicle Symposium |
| November 17 - 20, 2013 | Spain |
