Solar-charging backpacks
A company by the name of G24 Innovations that is based in the U.K. has shipped their first flexible solar panels.
The U.K. company’s dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) are thin-film photovoltaics that can be manufactured in flexible rolls relatively cheaply.
Mascotte Industrial Associates, will be manufacturing backpacks, duffel bags, e-book covers, camera bags, and messenger bags with these solar panels on them.
G24′s DSSC cells are designed to generate electricity from sunlight as well as from indoor lighting. The energy generated from these cells can then be accessed by cellphones or cameras. Although there have been similar backpacks in the past, with the DSSC cells being cheaper to manufacture, these backpacks may be more affordable to the general public.
I wonder what the price will be and if the cells could generate enough energy to power laptops. Also, will there be some sort of battery to store the energy generated?
I can really see this kind of technology growing quickly because of the quickly falling manufacturing prices on solar panels, and the growing need for energy for our portable electronics of tomorrow.
Bottom line? I wouldn’t mind having something like this. Give it a couple of years and you will be seeing solar panels on backpacks all over the place.
Link to original article: cnet.com
