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In reply to the discussion: Apple Hydrogen Fuel Cell Battery Plans Revealed [View all]truthisfreedom
(23,531 posts)1] Apple may or may not manufacture products that use hydrogen. They're not compelled to manufacture anything just because they get a patent. Patents can simply be strategic, and are sometimes purchased as inexpensive PR.
2] The purpose behind putting a fuel cell into a laptop (or other portable product) is to reduce weight and keep the product operating in extreme situations when it's difficult to recharge. It's not about efficiency. Hydrogen production via electrolysis may be inefficient (or might improve someday) but that's not a big factor when you take into consideration how little power a laptop actually needs to operate continuously.
3] A laptop is not a car. A car will require a great deal of energy so it's not the best use of hydrogen as fuel. My Tesla Roadster burns through as much electricity in 4 hours of 60mph operation as a normal all-electric house uses in 48 hours. Cars require a spectacular amount of energy to operate at high speeds.
4] Hydrogen is the lightest element, produces no pollution when burned or used in a fuel cell, so it actually works pretty nicely for this kind of application, even if it's inefficient to produce.
Everyone calm down. The future is pretty amazing. There's lots of great news regarding solar power. Which means that ultimately, if we need hydrogen for portable power, we'll have it. Cheap.
That is all.