Solar-powered bags hit the market today

A solar-cell patch you can stick on bags, backpacks or even clothes should mean that you'll never have to worry about charging your mobile ever again.

The first commercial production of low-light, ultra thin, solar cell technology called DSSC (dye-sensitized solar cells) is manufactured in Cardiff and is just beginning to be sold by Hong Kong-based consumer electronics bag manufacturer, Mascotte Industrial Associates

Ideal for clothing and portable applications, DSSCs are less than 1mm thick, inexpensive, don’t contain silicon or cadmium and can even operate indoors, making them ideal for powering cell telephones, cameras and portable electronics.

The company says DSSCs also can be embedded into tent material to power LED lighting systems for camping.

As the demand for portable power to feed mobile devices continues to grow, the challenge is that there is only so much power that can be safely stored in such small devices.

The advanced solar cells can also be layered onto laptops, mobile telephones, GPS units and AV devices for supplemental power, significantly extending their up-time.

The G24i module is based on a technology invented by the internationally acclaimed chemist, Prof Michael Grätzel, PhD, Director, Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne.

Bag manufacturer Mascotte will display the different styles of bags for the first time at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair today.