Reinventing how we recharge

February 02, 2015

Does your cell phone battery die at the most inopportune moments? Do you forget to plug your phone in at night to recharge?

Like me, I am sure you have often wished you could carry a charging station around in your pocket to ensure you could recharge your phone/camera/anything, wherever you are, whenever you like? It is incredible how the lack of access to a small device such as a cell phone can throw an entire day out and with the introduction of load shedding we are ever more in need of new and easy ways to recharge.

Well, it looks like the problem is about to be solved. I have recently discovered an exciting new product that is about to launch into the market; introducing – ‘Kraftwerk’.

Kraftwerk, which means ‘power station’ in German, is the latest product emerging out of the technology and innovation market, taking old-fashioned fuel cell technology to the next level.

Expected to start shipping mid December 2015, Kraftwerk’s concept has just received a whopping $400,000 (±R4.6 Million Rand) in funding on Kickstarter in just 5 days, with some people pledging as much as $10,000 (±R120 000) for distribution rights when it becomes available to the market.

How Kraftwerk works:

• The device produces energy by converting chemical energy into electricity
• It does this by taking standard lighter fuel, found in most shops and street corners and converting it into power.

Here are some of the amazing benefits we could see of this device:

• Can recharge an iPhone 5 up to 11 times on a single fuel.
• Very light weight, small and comes in 3 different colors.
• Standard USB port used to charge devices for weeks.
• Strong, it can be used in any weather conditions.

In South Africa, there are similar devices already in the market such as one we regularly use at RSAWEB called  Amped Carbon, however the main differences are that a device such as Amped Carbon:

• Can only charge an iPhone 5 up to 3 times.
• Requires a wall outlet to recharge.
• Recharge time can be in the hours.
• Recharge lifespan is quoted at around 500 times only. I am intrigued and excited about the concept of the Kraftwerk fuel cell technology as it looks like a massive step in the right direction both in keeping us connected for longer and in accessing power in more remote locations. I’m looking forward to trialing it when it hits the market later this year.Do any of you have any technology gadgets that you are currently developing or are excited about? If you do, I’d love to know about them, so why not drop a comment on Facebook or Twitter and I will look into them…