The solar revolution has just begun,according to inventors Shawn Frayne and Alex Hornstein,who fell in love with the dream of clean energy,everywhere,for everyone.Their primary focus is on microsolar devices,small,handheld solar charging devices with innumerable applications.After a few inventions,they discovered something...No one makes long lasting panels affordably.Moreover,the production of current microsolar panels is outsourced to primary factories in India and China.
While studying the way microsolar panels are made,they discovered that about 50%of the cost of them is in the assembly:every part of the panel is made by hand,from breaking apart the silicon wafers into small pieces,to soldering them,gluing them onto a panel and covering them with plastic.A great number of these panels are flawed–about fifteen percent of the microsolar panels are rejected and thrown out because they were soldered imperfectly.Also,the failure rate of these cheaply made panels is significant,as UV from the sun breaks down the cheap plastic that coats the panels,even though the silicon cells trapped inside can easily work for twenty-five years.
They asked themselves if they could not only make them better and less expensive,but also allow people anywhere in the world to make panels and devices themselves.They are embarking on a mission to decrease the costs of production by 25%.Precise,repeatable assembly and automated quality testing could cut down on the number of panels that have manufacturing defects and help us rework the ones that do,further decreasing our costs.The cost savings could be pumped back in,using high quality materials,so the panels will last longer and gather more light.Overall,the combination of the process would make microsolar panels about 30%cheaper than the existing panels and make them last five times longer in the sun.
The Solar Pocket Factory prototype in action
Their prototype machine is the Solar pocket Factory,a device that fits on a table.They expect to streamline the whole process,with claims of producing a solar cell every 15 seconds,equating to enough cells to power a million devices in a year.The vision is a world without batteries,with applications of solar products ranging from device chargers in third world countries to lighting public walkways.
To show how easy the world of solar can be,they've developed the Solar Pocket Factory Kit,a complete set of cells,tools,and components that allow you to create any solar device you can think up at home.It includes a high-capacity Lithium-ion battery and a Seeed Studios'LiPo Rider Pro circuit.The Solar Pocket kit has everything you need to make your own solar panel,and the LiPo Rider circuit board comes pre-assembled and takes care of charging up a lithium battery and providing a regulated power output that can power most iPhones,Galaxy,Blackberry,and other Smartphones.
