Fuel Cell technology backers such as Toshiba, NEC, & IBM have long been prepping the said technology as the next big and revolutionary thing. But still amidsts all the publicity and the promises, a working fuel cell model remains unseen. Toshiba has redundantly mentioned that it would be out in 12 months and that fuel cell technology could entitle the consumer with 10 hours of computing.

It is without a doubt that interest in fuel cells is growing, the airline industry would be the first to offer it as they may be readying to place some of these in their passenger cabins. But despite of the promise of big investments and big money, it seems that the fuel cell technology is not yet a perfected innovation. Fuel cells still have some drawbacks that needs to be remedied, and problem solving usually takes time - lots of it.

Toshiba has been sporting their fuel-cell prototype to journalists, and the verdict? A lot are saying that the prototype "looks like a squared-off, aluminium-cased bottle attached to a dock that wraps under a Toshiba Portege laptop. In terms of volume, it is around a litre and weighs about as much as the same measure of water. But it certainly performs well. A small, plastic, brick-shaped 100 millilitre cartridge with methanol fuel that looks like an ink-jet printer cartridge easily slots into the fuel cell body behind the laptop's screen. At the touch of the button the fuel cell instantly provides power. Toshiba says this will be enough for 10 hours of computing."

From that statement, it is certain that the fuel cell prototype gets the job done, but the question is, is it portable? If it weighs like 1 liter of water, then forget it, it ain't gonna click. Aside from the portability problem, reporters have also observed a "small but constant whirring noises and the persistent sounds of tiny clicks made by the pump and valves."

While companies continue to tackle the problems of fuel cells, industry groups have turned their attention to the airlines, which currently ban most of the fuels that fuel cells require. This is, as you might imagine, a big deal. The people most likely to want a fuel cell are those who travel a lot. If they can't bring their fuel cell on an airplane, sales are not going to be high. In this case, its future major stakeholders (airline companies) would also be the one to kill the dream of fuel cell use.