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So in a few years when these ethanol fuel cells are common place in our laptops.... are we going to be allowed to use them on an aircraft? The first reports (months back) said "yes" but now I'm not so sure!

There has been talk about 'restricting' (whatever they mean by that) laptops on flights for some time. There is an article in the Wall Street Journal about that today. It starts by describing the incident prior to Lufthansa 435 when a laptop caught fire before it started taxiing.

Apparently there has been 'documented 339 cases of lithium and lithium-ion batteries for portable electronics overheating, emitting smoke and fumes or exploding since 2003'. On top of that, the FAA has documented 60 incidents since 1991.

We might not have to wait for the ethanol fuel cells to have our laptops banned