French researchers said on Wednesday they had invented a hydrogen fuel cell as a backup power source for mobile phones, thus easing dependence on an electricity supply to charge the gadget.


The miniature fuel cell uses a hydrogen-filled cartridge about the size of a small cigarette lighter, according to the press presentation made by the researchers at the Atomic Energy Commission.

The gadget, designed to be carried in a belt pouch, has been in gestation since 2005 with a semi-conductor group, STMicroelectronics.
The cartridges are being developed by the company Bic, which makes pens, lighters and razors.

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