Rumor: Apple and Intelligent Energy Team Up to Bring Fuel Cells for Mobile Devices

Fuel cells have been the topic of discussion for many researchers in the past, working on theoretical inventions and all sorts of contraptions to figure out how to change the common battery and prolong the power output in order to keep mobile devices running for extended periods of time. Up until now, there have been only a handful of successful solutions, such as the sugar-powered battery, having most of them fail the practical tests.

Now it seems that fuel cell company, Intelligent Energy, has teaming up with ‘a major international electronics company’ to add fuel cell technology to the company’s mobile devices. Intelligent Energy is said to have revealed that it purchased patents for mobile fuel cell technology from Eveready, in association with the major electronics company in question which allegedly could not be identified in any finding.

“Intelligent Energy revealed upon floating that it bought a bundle of patents in tandem with a major ‘international electronics company’. It has kept the identity of its partner a closely guarded secret. But a source, who has knowledge of the partnership, confirmed that Apple is the big name working with the Loughborough-based firm.”

Though the partner company is not yet confirmed, the Daily Mail apparently received word from its sources, which points to Apple as being the secret company. This makes sense, since more and more mobile manufacturers out there are gaining ground on improved battery performance technology for their devices, the kind that is currently a threat to the ‘everlasting’ Apple devices. A partnership between the two companies might bring Apple a boost in battery life for both the MacBooks and iPhones/iPads, while also patenting (as always) the integrated technology for their own franchise.

Other links that point to Apple as being the mystery partner company is the fact that Intelligent Energy already has ties with Apple, having hired former Apple executive Joe O’Sullivan as its Chief Operating Officer in 2011. Other facts that strengthen the rumor can be found in Apple’s patents filed in 2010 and 2011, having the company describing the use of fuel cell technology in portable computing devices, as well as having its own corporate headquarters and data center from Maiden, North Carolina, running on large-scale fuel cells.

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