SunCat solar batteries charge themselves

Solar-powered phones such as the Samsung Blue Earth are great eco-friendly concepts, but we won't see these sun-worshipping devices replacing mainstream handsets anytime soon. Meanwhile, we still have a mountain of gadgets that need to be juiced regularly, which is why designer Knut Karlsen's idea of integrating flexible solar cells on to rechargeable batteries could be a more immediate solution to reducing our carbon footprint.

Named after a feline basking in the sun, SunCat involves flexible solar-cell strips glued to nickel-metal-hydride rechargeable cells.

With a conductive silver pen and flat wires recycled from a broken Canon lens, Knut managed to get a weak trickle charge connection. He admitted that the first prototype wasn't ideal, but he's working on a second model that may include a display for checking battery life and capacitors for more efficient charging.

A downside to this is that the battery will have to be smaller, according to Knut, if these extra components were to be added into a standard cell.