Flexolar: Ecological Flashlight

Votes: 17
Views: 5433

Flexolar is an ecological lantern intended for both indoor and outdoor environments. It is a design intended to reduce waste and pollution caused by chemical batteries. It uses sunlight as an energy source. It doesn't use batteries; instead it has a composite flexible ultracapacitor that has numerous thin layers of graphene and silicone.

This ultracapacitor design has overcome other ones in terms of energy storage and versatility. The ultracapacitor stores more energy than a battery and does it much faster as it charges at full capacity in 10 minutes. It lasts about 40 hours of light uninterrupted, a lot longer than conventional batteries. This is because of the storage capacity of graphene and also the low energy consumption of LEDs.

One of the main problems with actual solar powered lanterns is their small solar panel size; not with Flexolar because almost the entire product is a solar panel, also the entire product is flexible so it can be rolled resembling a conventional cylinder shaped lantern and occupy less space. It's a very durable product as it is made of resistant materials such as silicone and graphene. It's completely sealed and water resistant and it can last 30 years of use thanks to the proven durability of ultracapacitors and LEDs. It's lightweight and slim so it is very portable, and can withstand -60° to 100°C temperatures. Nowadays it can be mass produced as it is very simple to manufacture and has a few components with a simple and clean design.

  • Awards

  • 2015 Consumer Products Honorable Mention
  • 2015 Top 100 Entries

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  • ABOUT THE ENTRANT

  • Name:
    Ronny Sanchez Merino
  • Type of entry:
    individual
  • Profession:
    Engineer/Designer
  • Ronny is inspired by:
    Nature is my main inspiration when designing.
  • Software used for this entry:
    Autodesk Inventor
  • Patent status:
    pending