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The direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) will be developed by Sanyo and are expected to provide up to eight hours of power per cartridge. They have been designed to work not only with future ThinkPad ranges, but also with existing models.

The system includes a bay for a standard rechargeable battery for supplementary or emergency power.

Fuel cell technology differs from the traditional battery in that it runs on a fuel that needs to be externally replenished, like filling a car. DMFCs can store a lot of energy in a small space, making them ideal for consumer electronics devices and laptops.

IBM's

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Peter Hortensius, vice president of the Personal Computing Division said that the company is not embracing fuel cells simply because of the 'wow factor'.

'We see it as a powerful enabler that could support a wide variety of business applications...to help carry ThinkPad notebooks to the next generation of power supplies, while supporting the highest levels of business productivity.'

Mitsuru Homma, group executive of Sanyo's Power Solutions Group, added: 'This is quite a new concept that utilises both micro fuel cells and rechargeable batteries. This hybrid system could enable the user to efficiently operate ThinkPad notebooks for a longer time compared to systems with only a fuel cell.'

Back in February, the Guinness World Records recognised Toshiba's compact direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) as the world's smallest such fuel cell technology. Measuring 22 x 56 x 4.5mm, the system is targeted at smaller portable devices such as an MP3 player. Toshiba claims its version - which is still a prototype - could power an iPod for as long as 20 hours. This would be based on a single 2cc charge of highly concentrated methanol.