With mobile phones becoming an important part of everyone’s life, its usage has increased several-fold during the past few years. However, there are people who have mobile phones without much electricity to get them charged because of occasions such as trekking and camping, when there is absolutely no source to charge the phones. In order to resolve this issue, TES New Energy, a Japanese company, has created a new USB based charger called Panncharger, a charger which can charge a mobile phone without the requirement of electricity. This Pan Charger instead is said to use a heat source which could be as simple as a pan of boiling water or even a campfire.

Pancharger runs on a simple principle, wherein a small element in the base of the pan converts the heat into energy, called thermoelectric energy. Thisenergy thereby gets transferred to the handle and an attached USB plug that subsequently connects to a smartphone, either an Android or iPhone. It provides a maximum output of up to 5V. It is reported of the Pan Charger that, “unlike a solar power generator, it can be used regardless of time of day and weather while its small size allows people to easily carry it in a bag in case of evacuation”.

Pan charger can be used to charge any cell phone, MP3 player or other mobile device over a USB connection in about three to five hours. This device also has a built-in radio and a lantern, things that are often found useful in the absence of a power supply.