The Jaq: charge your mobile forever

January 14, 2016

If you have water and salt, this battery will charge your phone forever.

The best known, most persistent and constant complaint about smartphones is their battery life. But maybe we're looking for the answer in the wrong place. Wireless charging may not prevail after all, alternating batteries are becoming increasingly rare, and external battery chargers or battery cases are inelegant contraptions.

But what about fuel cells? Bjorn Westerholm, CEO of MyFC JAQ says:

"We have created the most powerful fuel plant in the world and it is portable"

Η MyFC JAQ is a new product from Sweden that allows you to charge your mobile phone using a simple, one-size-fits-all fuel cell credit card that you fill with water and salts. The product consists of a small and beautiful metal case that fits in our pocket. Inside it, we place a thin plastic fuel cell, which starts the chemical reaction that will produce the charging power we need. Each cell is enough for one charge and produces 2.400mAh, so it's enough to charge up to an iPhone 6. We insert the fuel unit and immediately we can charge our device - no need to wait hours anymore.

There is only one small trap. Once we insert the cell into the case, we only have an hour or two to charge our phone before it starts to lose power.

It is also a fairly "green" (environmentally friendly) solution. The cells are made from 100% recycled plastic and with a very small percentage of common metal. Unlike hydrogen fuel cells, they do not contain any flammable material (hydrogen) and do not need refilling. Typically we can simply throw the cells away after they are empty since they are environmentally friendly. However, MyFC cares about the environment and is working on a project where we can return the used cells for recycling when we go to buy new ones.

This is the second version of the MyFC product. The first version was an ungainly contraption that was bulky, ugly and we had to fill it ourselves with water.

For the second version, they had to work with the New York firm Aruliden, in order to come up with something stylish, memorable and desirable. The prototypes presented certainly meet these requirements. The name (JAQ) refers to the jack (plug) we use to connect a charging device - and which is now no longer needed. Of course, each unit comes with a cable USB at micro USB to connect our mobile or tablet (there is also a lightning cable).

The case comes in three different colours at the moment and you can mix and match the five different colours that the cells come in. It's an eye-catching product and it feels good to the touch as well.

Although in recent years there has been an explosion in the technology of devices (especially portable and mobile) and, although we use them more and more often, we have not seen a similar development in battery technology. The fuel cell is an alternative and we seem to be getting to a point where it is rather realistic as well as practical.

Η MyFC is working feverishly at the moment to reach agreements with the carriers so that its products can appear in the shops. She will also sell them online and ship them to any part of the world. The initial package includes the case JAQ, five fuel cells and the charging cable. Prices have not yet been stabilized but will be around 70€ for the package, with the extra cells costing around 1€ the one. It will be released before the end of the year.

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