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Welcome to the magnificent-looking Aptera Motor. It’s white, it’s cool, it’s powered by electricity and it has three wheels. That’s for real, and the Aptera 2E will hit the market sometime this year. But before you see them in stores, you should firstly get a thorough understanding of them. Executed by a boat builder and a biotechnology engineer, the car focuses on aerodynamics to realize a greater speed and effectiveness. The vehicle also has an electric engine that has the ability to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in less than 10 seconds and reach a top speed of 137km/h.  On the roof, there’s also a solar panel, which is used to run the heat pump. Another point worthy mentioning is the materials used in the interior, which is made from recycled materials and organic dyes to make the Aptera 2E an eco-car. According to the manufactures, they’ll also adopt a plug-in hybrid engine to lower the cost so as to make the motors available to everyone. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Presented here is the solar-powered bus waiting booth, designed by Yang Mingjie for Ningbo South Business District, China. It features a modular design, promising a convenient adjustment while reducing the maintenance and service cost. [Read the rest of this entry...]

A team of students from the École Supérieure d’ Art d’ Aix-en-Provence have developed the solar-powered washing machine, using bicycle tires, bamboo, a recycled electric motor and a solar panel. Though seemingly simple and crude, the equipment performs almost as well as the spinning washing machines. Because the machine is made from materials available all over the world and powered by renewable solar energy, people in any part of the world could DIY and use one. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Developed by Cabestan Watches, ‘Sol Invictus’ is the first solar-powered mechanical timepiece around the world. It features the new iconic chain and fusée, drums and vertical tourbillon, and also adopts the silicium crystals as efficient solar cells to generate sufficient power.

Its inner system is rather sophisticated- two brushless motors are used for rewinding the movement and setting the time, as well as a miniature controller for regulating the motors’ speed and amplifying the electrical charge. The motors and the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are positioned under the solar cells. But wearing a price tag of $560,000, will the timepiece really be that popular? Hmm…It remains to be seen. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Will the Olympic Games 2016 present us another building worth expecting, like the Bird’s Nest of the Beijing Olympic Games? With that question in mind, we’ve gathered related information here, letting you to know the building of great architectural interest and eco elements at the earliest possible date. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Created at the Knierim Yacht Club in northern Germany, PlanetSolar is the world’s largest solar-powered boat, measuring 31 meters x 15 meters x 7.5 meters. The yacht is covered with up to 500 sqm of solar panels, which are expected to capture 103.4 kW of solar energy to power the engine that merely needs 20KW. Designed with an average speed of about 9mph, the boat could reach a top speed of 17 miles per hour. About 18 million euro has been invested into the project. According to Knierim Yacht Club, the yacht has been ready for testing later this month and the sea trials (due between June and September). If everything goes smoothly, PlanetSolar will start its first world tour in early 2011. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Solar-powered lamps are not that new to us, but the Saint Clair Lamp presented here still surprises us on account of its unique way to get charged. Just as you can see, the lamp needs to be affixed onto the window with the suction pads to obtain energy, since the photovoltaic cells are built at its base. When the dark night comes, the lamp can then be used as a hanging lamp to illuminate your room. Designed by Stéphane Maupin, the innovative lamp has won one of the five VIA project assistance grants this year. [Read the rest of this entry...]

After a lengthy nine months of development, IBM has recently announced its new thin-film solar cell, which is made from cheaper materials while features an efficiency of 9.6% (40% higher than previous prototypes). The new thin film technology uses copper, tin, zinc, sulfur and selenium to take the place of traditional copper indium gallium selenide or cadmium telluride. Besides, the researchers also adopt a new kind of solvent- hydrazine, which is less costly and decomposes more easily. Instead of manufacturing the cells, IBM claims that they’d prefer to license out the new technology when the time comes. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Designed by Elium Studio for Lexon, these innovative gadgets are all made from sustainable materials like the corn bio-plastic and bamboo trim. The new range includes a crank-up radio, a calculator, a pocket flashlight, and several clocks. These gadgets are all powered by renewable solar energy. [Read the rest of this entry...]

This very sleek watch allows you to see the time in quite a convenient way. Firstly, the Button Watch (it looks just like a button and the watch takes the very name from that only) could be easily clipped to your jacket, you bag or even your hair to tell you the time. Much smaller and lighter than ordinary wrist watches, the innovative Button Watch adopts solar battery panels as its power supply in order to make full use of the natural energy and therefore to save you much money paid for electricity bills. Also using touch screens to display the time, the watch will show the time and date on the glass face whenever you click its surface. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Shown at CES 2010 in Las Vegas, the portable solar charger allows you to charge your electronics anywhere. It is a foldable charger, measuring 83cm ×140cm×35cm when unfolded but measures as small as a wallet if you fold it up. So next time your laptops, cell phones, GPS, or mp3 players are out of power, you can easily charge them with the portable solar charger in a park or even on the road. [Read the rest of this entry...]

What have you done to accomplish your dreams of slam-dunking? You kept playing basketball day and night? Then you must need the Glow-in-the-dark Basketball Net, something especially designed for an overnight use. Powered by the sunlight it absorbs and stores during the daytime, the net could illuminate for about 8 hours.

Selling Price: $32.98

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What have you done to accomplish your dreams of slam-dunking? You kept playing basketball day and night? Then you must need the Glow-in-the-dark Basketball Net, something especially designed for an overnight use. Powered by the sunlight it absorbs and stores during the daytime, the net could illuminate for about 8 hours. [Read the rest of this entry...]

As is indicated by its name “Road Printer”, the device has been designed to print needed signs directly onto the ground surface, therefore saving men much trouble in painting signs on the road. Just choose needed signs like U Turn, Stop, etc, the huge printer will then leave standard signs on the road surface.

Oh, wait, there is more! It’s also an eco-friendly product, which is powered by the solar panel on its top. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Are you looking for something different and personalized? Having a look at the ‘Solar Powered Sticker Phone’ presented here on I New Idea? Wow, you’re now different, huh? For phone users who are seeking for an eco-friendly product, the arch-shaped phone may be a perfect choice. No longer needing electric outlets, just stick the phone onto the window glass and then it will get charged in the sunshine. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could keep our heads and hands warm relying on the nature energy rather than electric power? After all, the nature is the original of everything, certainly including us human beings. Yiran Qian’s ‘Endless Warm’ concept is easy to understand. The new hats and gloves will be powered by solar energy to keep us warm and comfortable, therefore to save the limited electricity and mineral energy. Does that really work? We won’t get a sure answer before the products really come to us. [Read the rest of this entry...]