◎陳成良

Toshiba plans to launch an external battery charger based on a DMFC （direct methanol fuel cell） in the next two months, its new president said on Wednesday.

東芝公司計劃在未來兩個月內推出一款以「直接甲醇型燃料電池」（DMFC）為基礎的外接式電池充電器，該公司新任社長週三說。

The charger will be a portable device that can be used to charge the batteries in portable gadgets such as cell phones, music players and portable game devices instead of plugging them into an electrical outlet.

這種充電器將會是一個可攜式裝置，能用來為攜帶型裝置，諸如手機、音樂播放器及手持式遊戲機的電池充電，而不用將它們插入電源插座。

DMFCs produce electricity from a reaction between methanol, water and air. The only by-products are a small amount of water vapor and carbon dioxide, so DMFCs are often seen as a greener source of energy than traditional batteries. Another advantage is that they can be replenished with a new cartridge of methanol in seconds.

DMFC透過甲醇、水及空氣的交互作用發電，副產品只有少量水蒸氣及二氧化碳，因此DMFC經常被視為比傳統電池更環保的能源來源。另一個優點是它們能夠在數秒鐘內以新的甲醇匣補充電力。

The new charger will be on sale before the end of the first half of Toshiba’s current financial year, which is the period from April to September.

這種新充電器將在東芝本會計年度上半年（4至9月）結束前上市。

Following the launch of the portable charger Toshiba will look at commercializing DMFCs for cell phones and laptop computers, it said.

推出這種可攜式充電器之後，東芝將著眼於將手機及膝上型電腦的DMFC商業化，他說。

新聞辭典

gadget：名詞，（夠酷、很炫的）小器具；小裝置；小玩意。例句：She likes those clever little gadgets. （她喜愛那些做得很巧妙的小玩意兒。）

replenish：動詞，補充；重新裝滿；給……再添燃料。例句：We need to replenish manpower. （我們需要補充人力。）

look at：片語，考慮；著眼於。例句：What he looks at is its economy．（他是從經濟角度看問題的。）

自由時報-980822

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