Little Suns Kickstarter campaign to finance its new solar mobile phone charger for off-grid use, and particularly for those in communities with no access to electricity, has more than tripled since its Sept. 2 launch. The company initially hoped to raise 50,000 ($55,794) in 30 days for the Little Sun Charge. So far, it has received donations of nearly 154,000 ($171,850).
We are excited see the amount of support and interest, Little Sun CEO Felix Hallwachs tells pv magazine.
The spirit of Kickstarter, namely making creative things happen together, is close to our hearts, and it is fantastic to connect with so many people to share a thought, and to share a mission. Now we are coming close to 300% of our original funding goal, and we are looking forward to making the Little Sun Charge the perfect solar energy tool with this support.
Hallwachs says the companys goal was to begin production of the units with the campaign, and now that it has not only reached its goal but far surpassed it, Little Sun is beefing up production for the Charge.
Now we are working on even more improvements of the units, more production efficiency, a better certification and testing routine, as well as on sourcing the best possible components to make an extra set of Charges for off-grid. The more funding we secure the more chargers we can also bring into the world and thereby bring the world closer to sustainable energy access for all.
The companys team has been moved by the response from donors. It is exciting to see the resonance, it motivates the team to go all in to make the best possible Charge a reality, Hallwachs says.
The Little Sun Charge is the second collaboration between artist Olafur Eliasson and engineer Frederik Ottesen, the founders of Little Sun, following the popular Little Sun Original solar powered lamp.
The companys target retail price for the Charge in Europe is 120, while the retail price in off-grid regions is likely to be under US$40, according to Hallwachs.
Similar to the Little Sun Original, we will work with a cross subsidy from customers and retailers in the global north to make the units accessible in off-grid areas. Since we believe in inclusive business and entrepreneurship, we prefer delivering the units at an affordable price with local partners making profits over free delivery.
"Now all Kickstarter campaign contributors are collaborators with Little Sun, and in the long run there is a global collaboration between on and off-grid regions – distributors, retailers, customers, users – always linked by a common thought, and by holding hands with the sun."
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