In the world of portable power, solar panels, generators, and rechargeable batteries are the standard. One company has proposed a new solution: A battery that runs on air.
Well, not just air, but zinc and air. Combined they form what Metair Power is calling the “world’s most powerful disposable battery.”
It works by oxidizing zinc with oxygen from the air and creating an electrical current. You insert a large cartridge into the unit, removing a covering to expose the zinc chemicals.
The company compares it to a chemical hand-warmer pack that once exposed to oxygen goes into a chemical process that produces heat.
How much power? The Metair Solstice is cited to produce 60,000 mAh at 5.0 volts, and it gives more than 190 watt-hours of stored energy. That’s enough to give off 125 hours of ambient light or charge an iPhone up to 28 times, the company touts.
You swap in a new cartridge once it’s used up.
The unit has two USB ports, an array of red and white LED lights, hazard flashers, and a strobe.
Metair is seeking funding through a Kickstarter campaign.
At $109 for the case and an additional $35 per cartridge, the company offers a new kind of portable (and ostensibly reliable) power source for the backcountry or anywhere off-grid.
