Karen Epper Hoffman in MIT’s Technology Review:
As a future fuel source, hydrogen inspires a lot of hope — and more than a little wariness. But one New Jersey startup has developed a hydrogen-powered fuel cell technology for portable devices that it’s promising can be as safe and even longer-lasting than today’s batteries.
Millennium Cell of Eatontown, N.J. has developed a proprietary process that uses sodium borohydride — a chemical synthesized from borax, a mineral commonly found in laundry detergents — to produce hydrogen. Stored in its liquid form, the sodium borohydride solution is passed through a chamber containing a proprietary catalyst, and hydrogen is released as needed. Millennium Cell doesn’t make the actual fuel cells, but instead partners with different fuel cell manufacturers that license its system.
More here.