Exeger prints flexible solar cells for consumer electronics that use ambient light for charging devices such as e-readers, tablets, and headphones, and do not rely on rare-earth metals.

Ambient light charging is a technology that enables energy conversion in both indoor and outdoor lighting conditions, and is not dependent on sunlight. A light-sensitive dye absorbs and then converts light energy into chemical energy which can be used to power or charge devices, eliminating the need to plug it in when there is a light source around.

Exeger’s simple design and flexible solar cell means it can work well with different personal electronics.

Exeger’s factory in central Stockholm is now the largest solar-cell printing factory in the world, and uses widely available materials for production of the solar cells, as opposed to other variants which rely on several rare-earth minerals. The production process is also entirely non-toxic.

143 TWh were needed to power consumer electronics in the US in 2017. That’s equivalent to 21,600,000 cars 50km per day for a whole year, or planting 1,672,000,000 seedlings and letting them grow for 10 years to compensate for the CO2 emissions.