Frederik Krebs is working on a promising project that could help give light to 1.5 billion people living in impoverished areas with no access to electricity. The trick is in combining PV cells printed on sheets, LEDs and ultra-thin lithium batteries. The problem, however, is in the efficiency rate which at the moment doesn't crosses the 1% mark.

The good thing, on the other hand, is the price, which goes at $7 a piece, promising mass addoption if some large scale program is accepted by the UN and governments of the countries where this technology could be used.

At present, some prototypes of the lamps are being tested in Zambia. During the day, people leave these solar panels laying flat, whereas in the night they roll them up (and secure with snap-button) into a cone-shaped lamp. Great idea and one more proof that the future lies in the renewable energy!

[Via: Gizmodo]