A new magnesium fuel cell using saltwater as electrolyte is now being commercialized by Tokyo-based Furukawa Battery, a company specialized in power systems.
The electrolyte, just like in any other fuel cell, carries charged particles from one electrode to another, and electricity is generated following this reaction.
“It is now possible to install an inexpensive emergency power source at each house,” said Professor Daiki Ohama, who helped develop the technology, in an interview quoted in the Fuel Cell Development Information Center’s February newsletter, quoted by Forbes.com.
The fact that this technology uses virtually cheap salt water, unlike all the other fuel cells that use alkali, molten carbonate, phosphoric acid, PEM (proton exchange membrane) and solid oxides, allows it to be as cheap as possible.
Furukawa even dreams having its saltwater fuel cells priced half a lead acid battery, today’s most inexpensive (but heavy) battery on the market.
