G24i Creates Personal Power Plants

04 December 2009

In an increasingly device-driven world, a Campbell-based company is planning for a future where consumers will no longer need to be tethered to an outlet, waiting to power up. G24 Innovations Inc. is developing a technology where everyone can power their personal devices on the go, with the power of the sun.

That idea took a step forward in October when G24 announced its first commercial shipment of its photovoltaic modules to a Hong Kong-based consumer electronics bag manufacturer, Mascotte Industrial Associates.

The idea has attracted $100 million in funding during the past three years from Renewable Capital LP, the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland and Morgan Stanley Principal Investments.

The G24 photovoltaic panel will be integrated into a range of bags. The panel will harvest energy from the sun while outdoors as well as in low-light conditions indoors. It will repower mobile electronic devices such as mobile phones, e-books, cameras and portable LED lighting systems. The modules use dye-sensitized nano-structured technology, also called DSSC. The shipment to Mascotte made G24 the first commercial manufacturer of DSSC technology for mass consumer use in the world.