New iPhone battery prototype lasts more than a week

He said that they have now managed to make a fuel cell so thin that it can fit it to the existing chassis without alterations and retaining the rechargeable battery.

The tech firm believes the potential mass-deployment could see the cost of the fuel cell technology plummet to as little as the price of a cup of coffee, hypothetically opening up a market it claims is worth as much as £300bn a year.

For consumers, the company plans a disposable cartridge filled with enough hydrogen-releasing powder to power the iPhone for up to a week, after which it needs to be replaced with a new cartridge.

Like most hydrogen fuel cell batteries, including one recently developed by BMW, Intelligent Energy’s power unit combines hydrogen and oxygen molecules to produce electricity.

Intelligent Energy claims to have created a working prototype of a hydrogen battery, fitting in current phone designs and offering a seven-day charge. In this version, the battery could appear like a small cartridge that can fit into the lower part of the handset. Presumably this could work on other phones also.

Based on initial tests it seems that their prototype was a success and that the iPhone 6 managed to last a week without charging. Apple is yet to respond to a request for comment from IBTimes UK as to whether it is considering using hydrogen fuel cells within its devices in the future.

The Telegraph additionally quoted Henri Winand, chief government of Intelligent Energy saying that, ‘This is a main step as a result of in case you are shifting to a new know-how you need to give individuals a path they’re snug with’.

The company’s corporate finance chief said Mark Lawson-Statham it is all “about how quickly does our partner want to press the button and get on with it?”