IBM Japan and Sanyo are teaming up to bring a real fuel cell system to notebook PCs in the near future. Sanyo has already developed a hybrid battery system with both standard lithium ion battery and fuel cell which can be used on existing ThinkPad models. Said system uses a 130cc cartridge, leading to about 8 hours of battery life. The best part, though, is hot-swapping fuel cell cartridges for uninterrupted mobile computing. The worst part? It weighs 2.2kg (nearly 5 pounds).[via gizmodo]

Okay, don't laugh—we know how ridiculous it looks, but fuel cells have to start somewhere, aight? Sanyo 's claiming their methanol-powered fuel cell add-on for IBM's ThinkPad lineup should power the device up to 8 hours, and would require no modifications to current units to run—which means you could technically use it in conjunction with your battery for extra juice or even to recharge. We're still not quite ready to accept the risk of planting one of these babies on our laps or anything, but good for them anyway. We should also take the opportunity, however, to mention that this is currently in prototype only, so if you're looking for a quick in to portable catalytic power, you're gonna have to step on.[via engadget]