foldable origami solar panels power up appliances and vehicles for portable off-grid charging

Powered up off-grid, nomadic living

Greentech startup Levante draws inspiration from Japanese paper folding and designs foldable origami solar panels that can be easily brought and transported anywhere for off-grid charging and powering up. Levante origami solar panels are lightweight enough to carry due to the sheerness of the solar plates and can be easily installed in under a minute with their push-and-pull style. The hinges immediately fold and unfold to make it easier for the users to use them whenever they want to.

Levante’s foldable origami solar panels can also be used on different occasions, anywhere the users need renewable energy, and may be best as a traveling companion to those who want to sail away on water vehicles or try their hands at nomadic living with their camper vans. Founders Sara Plaga and Kim-Joar Myklebust are campers and sailors themselves, so the duo understands the challenge of living off-grid without a power supply on hand.

Plaga and Myklebust claim that their origami solar panels are easy to be deployed, can be used as awnings on watercraft drawn from the rectangular base that doubles as a hook, can still generate electricity even when they are folded. Continuing the latter part, the solar panels churn out more energy when they are unfolded as they can absorb more solar energy in this way.

images courtesy of Levante

Levante devises foldable origami solar panels

Sara Plaga and Kim-Joar Myklebust of Levante offer a power source of 330 watts and 500 watts for their foldable origami solar panels, depending on how much supply the users desire. The duo turns to origami to boost their design upon seeing how bulky traditional solar panels can get. By allowing the panels to fold up, they can save up the space they take up, making it an ideal portable supply of renewable energy.

Plaga and Myklebust state that their foldable origami solar panels are made in Italy and comprise monocrystalline silicon cells that have 23.4 percent conversion efficiency. They add that when the solar panels are open and sit in the sun all day, they can generate energy for the appliances in the camper van or boat with an estimate of 38 hours for a fridge, 27 hours for a laptop, four hours for an air conditioner, and an hour and a half for an induction stove.

the foldable origami solar panels still power up appliances, devices, and vehicles even when they are folded