Never out of power – new and unique portable fuel cell charger that runs on ordinary water (um …)

[eppur_se_muova]

8. Made from elemental sodium and silicon ...

sodium must be made by electrolysis, silicon mostly made in electric furnaces (AFAIK) from coke and silica, with CO2 as byproduct.

Energy efficiency is probably pretty low. This is "luxury electricity", could never make it on a commodity scale.

Thanks for the link -- they also make a dispersed sodium in silica power, chemically probably pretty different.

One drawback with sodium silicide is the possibility that trace amounts of Si2H6 (pyrophoric) might be produced. Keeping the Na/Si ratio low probably prevents this.


ETA: One of the authors of the JACS paper is James Dye, a well-recognized chemist who prepared the first compounds containing alkali metal anions such as Na^-; he introduced the use of so-called 'cryptand' complexing agents for cations. What they have found here is a convenient, safe-to-handle portable source of H2. It's not a new energy source, "green" energy, perpetual motion, or any other breakthrough. It's a neat invention for certain applications, nothing more, nothing less.