By Evan Ackerman
PowerFilm makes a wide array of rollable and foldable solar panels that are easy to take with you to power your gadgets when you’re in the middle of nowhere communing with nature. Their newest chargers are designed specifically to charge AA batteries, and one of them even comes with an integrated USB charging port. You can charge 4 AA batteries at up to 0.4 amps in direct sunlight, or plug your USB stuff in directly, or charge via USB using the batteries. The PowerFilm USB AA solar charger weighs under 5 ounces and will retail for about $100 “shortly.” The version that charges just 4 AAs will cost about $80.
PowerFilm also has products designed for, shall we say, more power intensive consumers. Like the military, for example, or emergency services. The Solar Quad is a 10 foot square, 190 watt foldable panel array that can put out 12 amps at over 15 volts, which is a lot of juice from a bunch of tiny little photons. The big size comes with a big pricetag, of course: $2000.
[ PowerFilm ]
