Only a few days ago, we discussed Canon's intentions of developing fuel cells and promoting this concept as a replacement for lithium ion batteries used in most digital portable products. Today, it is time to talk about the first real products that the company has presented as being powered by fuel cells.

At the end of last week, Canon presented at a technology expo in Japan a digital camera running on a fuel cell powered by hydrogen. The fuel cells are included in the handle of the camera, where regular batteries are now inserted. The cells Canon has presented offer the same energy levels regular lithium ion secondary batteries of the same size do.
However, Canon promised to further develop these cells and improve the density, which could mean achieving three to five more times energy for these cells in the near future.

Canon has also presented three other fuel cells on this event, the first designed also for digital cameras, the second meant to power small portable devices, and the largest cell of the group designed for portable printers and such. The latter includes a power generation unit along with the fuel cell.

Canon isn't the only company pursuing fuel cell development and actually presenting end results. Hitachi has shown a fuel-cell powered PDA back in March. None of the companies has made any statements as to when they will have the technology ready for commercial use.
Photo credit: i4u news