The World's First Battery-Free Hearing Aid

Widex Energy Cell™ powers The World’s First Battery-Free Hearing Aid. Carefully fitted into a discreet design, the world’s smallest fuel cell is developed to help users re-energise their hearing aids in virtually no time. It is easier to handle than traditional hearing aids and never needs a battery change again. With Widex Energy Cell, the world is seeing its first hearing aid powered by fuel cell technology. Widex Energy Cell technology is based on an efficient, miniaturised fuel cell that produces electricity to re-energise a hearing aid through a safe electrochemical reaction using oxygen and methanol. The re-energising process only activates an intelligent refill unit that supplies the hearing aids with methanol. Most hearing aids today use batteries or battery chargers connected to power outlets. Widex Energy Cell requires neither. The intelligent refill unit is all it takes to re-energise the hearing aid. While modern rechargeable hearing aids take 3-6 hours to get fully charged, Widex Energy Cell ensures 24 hours of use in just 20 seconds. Furthermore, a set of conventional hearing aids requires up to 120 batteries per year. Widex Energy Cell only needs 12 cartridges a year. This battery-free solution gives users easy access to high-quality sound without any finger-fumbling and hassles—a problem shared by many elderly hearing aid users. The simple refill unit design makes it easy to set the hearing aid for re-energising. Once in place, the refill unit will simultaneously clean residual energy from the hearing aid and supply it with new energy. Red Dot Award: Design Concept | Ready to Launch | Energy