LITEN, the laboratory of the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (CEA, or French Atomic Energy Commission) for innovation in nanomaterials and new energy technologies, based in Grenoble, and its partner STMicroelectronics have developed a revolutionary battery charger equipped with a micro fuel cell. The device, which generates current from hydrogen on demand, could be integrated by 2010 into third generation mobile phones that have new features requiring up to 2 watts of power. To keep production costs low for these miniature batteries, CEA engineers came up with the idea of etching them on a silicon wafer, a common practice in microelectronics. The hydrogen supply problem (it can't be stored under high pressure) was resolved by having water react with sodium borohydride, with each kept separate in a tiny plastic cartridge. The energy density of the microcells will be twice as high as lithium batteries and five times as high as the methanol fuel cells Japanese manufacturers are planning to market.