Former design engineer Jonathan Cedar has created two cool devices that help generate green energy in remote locations and the developing world—and power smartphones and other mobile devices. Yahoo News reports:
The CampStove is available in the U.S. and Europe for outdoor recreational use and emergency preparedness. You stick wood (twigs, pine cones) into the small contraption to create a fire. You can then plug your mobile device USB cord into the base of CampStove to recharge your gadget.
The CampStove can charge a phone in about the same speed as a laptop, in other words not as fast as a traditional outlet. But Cedar said it’s “a speed that most consumers seem comfortable with.”
BioLite also sells a larger model called the HomeStove in emerging markets, and has already launched pilot programs in India and Sub-Saharan Africa. According to the World Health Organization, three billion people still cook on open, smoky fires. Cedar markets the HomeStove as a safer, cleaner alternative that offers a another major bonus: it also generates electricity for charging phones. The World Bank says nearly five billion cellphone users live in developing countries. Cedar’s target market therefore is enormous.
