The makers of a new solar powered battery charger are on the hunt for a local distributor.
The technology was developed by Korean engineer, Man Geun Lee, and is targeted at military and outdoor use. Two chargers are available - the $50 Soleitec NU 200 GBS/SBS for mobile telephones, cameras and iPods, and the $250 Soleitec NU 1200 GBS for notebook PCs, game players and portable TVs.
Geun Lee has also developed a "stealth" model suitable for armed forces that need up to 84 watts of power for military electronics.
A director at ITECplace, the company helping Geun Lee fi nd a distributor for the chargers, Thomas Schmocker, said it was looking for an organisation with strong links into the military and outdoors markets.
Those with retail customers were also sought, he said.
Schmocker said there was plenty of local interest in Geun Lee's technology. ITECplace and Soleitec claim the battery charges are 30 per cent more efficient and more robust than competitors. Geun Lee is a doctor who has worked in Korean universities. In addition to looking for a distributor for the solar powered chargers, he is also looking for collaboration partners to improve his technology.
He has already worked with Pohan, a Korean equivalent to the Victoria-based Australian Synchrotron scientific facility. Schmocker said Pohan and the Australian Synchrotron had a collaboration agreement in place.
"We agreed that the technology would be nice for the CSIRO, who have expressed interest in working with Geun Lee," Schmocker said.
