A Bermuda businessman is out to prove life’s a gas — with hi-tech hydrogen fuel cells which provide electricity with water as the only by-product.

Muhammed Hamza, who runs Dragonfly Ltd, said he is starting small with the Horizon Mini Pak — the world’s smallest personal fuel cell, which can be used to charge a range of devices from cellphones to MP3 players.

But he said that fuel cell set-ups designed to power entire houses were possible and that he hoped the technology would take off.

Mr Hamza, who has partnered with US firm Renewable Energy International, said: “These are the first of their kind in Bermuda.

“It’s an introduction to the hydrogen infrastructure, which is something which is happening all over the world.

He added: “A hydrogen-powered house is entirely possible — what we aim to do is bring the hydrogen infrastructure to Bermuda to make that happen.”

Major car manufacturers like German giants BMW have already unveiled hydrogen-powered cars, while California is investing in a network of hydrogen filling stations to encourage car buyers to make the switch.

Mr Hamza added: “In Germany, 40 percent of all renewable energy projects are run by individuals like ourselves.”

The Mini Pak comes with the Hydrofill system, which automatically refills Hydrostik cartridges, using a high-performance water-based system.

The hand-held power generator extracts the hydrogen from the water to create electricity.

The cartridge — about the size of a large conventional battery — is designed to international safety standards for transportable gas storage devices.

Each Hydrostik can store enough power to fully charge a 3G smartphone up to two times or recharge a conventional cellphone up to three times.

And the Hydrostik is reusable and recyclable — so it’s more environmentally friendly.

Mr Hamza said a complete kit retailed at $450 in Bermuda — which, compared to the price of rechargeable AA batteries, would prove to be a money-saver over time.

He explained: “If you do the math and you had 14 rechargeable AA batteries able to do the same job, that would be 100 life cycles less than it would be for hydrogen.”

Renewable Energy International boss Mike Strizki — an expert in renewable energy including wind and solar panel power, as well as hydrogen — has a non-profit “Hydrogen House” showcase in New Jersey to highlight the benefits of the technology.

The unit uses solar power to create hydrogen, which is then stored to even out supply, even if the sun is not shining.

The Hydrogen House website said: “Since the prototype Hydrogen House’s development, Strizki’s company, Strizki Systems, has installed an upgraded version of the solar-hydrogen system in the Cayman Islands, and has numerous celebrity clients awaiting a Strizki System of their own.

“This technology is scalable, and can even be developed at the utilities level with the right investment. Even better, in cases of multiple users, such as a neighbourhood or condominium complex, the price of the system reduces exponentially per capita.

“The Hydrogen House is now moving into phase two, where more modern hydrogen fuel cell technology will be integrated to demonstrate increased efficiencies and economic viability of the system.”

For further information on Dragonfly and the Horizon Mini Pak, email Info@dragonfly.bm