Old laptop batteries still have enough life in them to power homes in slums, researchers have said.
An IBM study analysed a sample of discarded batteries and found 70% had enough power to keep an LED light on more than four hours a day for a year.
Researchers said using discarded batteries is cheaper than existing power options, and also helps deal with the mounting e-waste problem.
The concept was trialled in the Indian city of Bangalore this year.
The adapted power packs are expected to prove popular with street vendors, who are not on the electric grid, as well as poor families living in slums.
The research, which comes from IBM's India-based research team, will be discussed at a conference in San Jose, California, according toTechnology Review from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Cheap
The IBM team created what they called an UrJar - a device that uses lithium-ion cells from the old batteries to power low-energy DC devices, such as a light.
The researchers are aiming to help the approximately 400 million people in India who are off grid.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30339943
An IBM study analysed a sample of discarded batteries and found 70% had enough power to keep an LED light on more than four hours a day for a year.
Researchers said using discarded batteries is cheaper than existing power options, and also helps deal with the mounting e-waste problem.
The concept was trialled in the Indian city of Bangalore this year.
The adapted power packs are expected to prove popular with street vendors, who are not on the electric grid, as well as poor families living in slums.
The research, which comes from IBM's India-based research team, will be discussed at a conference in San Jose, California, according toTechnology Review from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Cheap
The IBM team created what they called an UrJar - a device that uses lithium-ion cells from the old batteries to power low-energy DC devices, such as a light.
The researchers are aiming to help the approximately 400 million people in India who are off grid.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30339943
