Prototype SunCat batteries enable solar charging

Damian Koh | Feb 24, 2009

(Credit: Knut Karlsen)

Solar-powered phones like the Samsung Blue Earth are great eco-friendly concepts in theory. But let's be frank with ourselves. We won't see these sun-worshipping devices replacing mainstream handsets in the near future. Meanwhile, we still have a mountain of gadgets that need to be juiced regularly, which is why designer Knut Karlsen's idea of integrating flexi solar cells onto rechargeable batteries could be a more immediate solution to reducing our carbon footprint.

(Credit: Knut Karlsen)

Named after a feline basking in the sun, SunCat comprises flexible solar cell strips glued to NiMH rechargeable cells. With a conductive silver pen and flat wires recycled from a broken Canon lens, Knut managed to get a weak trickle charge connection. He admitted that the first prototype wasn't ideal, but he's working on a second model which may include a display for checking battery life and capacitors for more efficient charging.

A downside to this is that the battery will have to be smaller according to Knut, if these extra components were to be added into a regular cell. But we're confident these issues can be worked out along the way.

Via OhGizmo!

Filed under: Future Tech, Gadgets, Green Tech
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Devlin

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Devlin says...
You've got to hand it to him. That's a pretty cool idea! Only thing of concern would be leaving batteries under the sun. That just doesn't seem like a smart thing to do.

Feb 24, 2009 19:09