The nPower PEG we first tried in prototype form at CES 2009 finally goes on sale tomorrow (May 3, 2010). The PEG is a light-weight, titanium encased portable generator that can recharge a handheld device (phone, media player, camera, GPS etc.) when you are away from the grid, though it is unlike any other mobile power solutions in that you DON'T need any fuel, don't need to turn hand cranks and you don't need the sun. The US$150 PEG is 9 inches long, weighs 9 ounces and harvests kinetic energy as you move about in your daily life. Just put it in your backpack, bumbag, handbag, brief case or glovebox and it will collect and store energy from your movements. The first 1000 units will appropriately be engraved as “First Mover” Editions.
The personal energy generator uses the same principle as battery-less flashlights to harvest energy from the environment - Faraday's Principle of Electromagnetic Induction.
The nPower® PEG’s charge rate varies widely based on the specific user’s movement. On average, consumers lose battery power in their cell phones once per week. When the PEG is carried during one’s daily activities, the PEG continually tops off its internal power storage, so that users will never be without power.
Meeting the USB 2.0 standard, the nPower® PEG’s 1000 mAh battery charges handheld electronics at the same rate as a wall outlet.
The amount of “talk” or “play time” that the PEG will provide varies based on the type of device being charged.
The nPower® PEG uses a lithium polymer battery to stockpile energy, so it's fully recyclable and it uses a standard USB 2.0 interface and universal iGo tip system and will deliver said energy to more than 90 percent of hand-held devices on the market.
The PEG is a product from kinetic energy harvesting specialist Tremont Electric and the nPower® technology is scalable both up and down in size and will eventually power a product range which extends from small, implantable biomedical generators to large commercial scale wave energy converters that sit in the ocean.
Source: nPower® PEG
