I have been bullish on solar-powered e-readers or charging cases for a long time. This is more environmentally friendly and cuts down the amount of setting you have to do. Charging your reader with ambient light from the sun is the holy grail for modern design. Exeger and E Ink have just partnered up to develop self-charging ePaper devices.
Exeger and E Ink are in an exclusive partnership to create reference designs for eNotes and other electronic ink products to extend their battery life and help reduce their overall carbon footprint. The prototype, an eNote, will feature a cover that allows the device to charge using all forms of light, indoor and outdoor.
E Ink and Exeger’s reference designs will feature Exeger’s patented Powerfoyle solar cell technology. Powerfoyle is the world’s only fully customizable solar cell, which converts all forms of light, both natural outdoor light and ambient indoor light, into clean, endless energy.
The prototype is an eNote cover: a slim, durable accessory with a Powerfoyle solar cell seamlessly integrated, which will significantly extend the eNote’s battery life when exposed to light and bring ultimate convenience for the end-user.
Exeger’ s cutting-edge light-harvesting solar cell technology is made from environmentally friendly and abundantly available materials. Thanks to Exeger’s unique printing technique, the solar cell can be made in almost any shape or form. Powerfoyle can also be produced with different patterns and textures, allowing brands to incorporate the technology while retaining the design DNA of their products.
“This is a pivotal moment for the ePaper industry,” said Dr. Georgios Foufas, Chief Commercial Officer at Exeger. “I am proud to contribute to the evolution of ePaper products with this exclusive partnership and to show the world the first self-powered eNote at Touch Taiwan together with E Ink. They are industry leaders and true innovators that keep pushing the development of the market. Introducing clean, endless energy directly integrated into products can completely revolutionize the market and open up opportunities for new applications, expanding the reach of ePaper products.”
“E Ink is dedicated to advancing low-carbon, eco-friendly display solutions through its cutting-edge and sustainable ePaper technology. The company is proactively collaborating with ecosystem partners to develop more energy-efficient and environmentally responsible technologies and products,” said JM Hung, Vice President of the Product Center of E Ink Holdings. “We are delighted to work with Exeger and integrate light harvesting technology into the eNote cover. By converting the power of outdoor and indoor light through Exeger’s Powerfoyle, the eNote will be powered by renewable energy, which tightly aligns with our goal of zero carbon emissions.”
The two companies will showcase the technology at Touch Taiwan, and Good e-Reader will be live on the scene, taking pictures and videos of this and all other new e-paper products.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.