Apple's Planned Fuel Cell Could Power a MacBook for Weeks

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has today published a patent application from Apple for a fuel cell system designed to allow a MacBook to operate without external power “for days or even weeks.” The application was originally submitted by Apple in March, and actually represents a continuation of two patents from 2010, one of which was previously spotted by AppleInsider. The patent was published shortly after a British company rumored to be working with Apple managed to fit a fuel cell battery into an iPhone 6, powering it for a week at a time. The advantage of using such an electricity producing system lays in the fact that once connected, such a fuel system might be able to produce enough energy to keep the portable device running for weeks on end. Fuel cell systems require the fuel to be replenished once it is exhausted, which the patent addresses by referencing removable cartridges. Apple is keeping its options open on the fuel used in the system. The most likely implementation would be a mix of conventional batteries and fuel cells, allowing the MacBook to be recharged in the usual way, switching to fuel cell power only when extended wireless use is required.