iCanique is a British technology business based in the south west of England. Its engineers and technologists are some of the leaders in the field of aluminium air fuel cell technology.
If you're interested in knowing more about the company, the iCan or other products in development then drop us a line at info@icanique.com - we'd love to hear from you.
The iCan is the first product from iCanique. The iCan is an aluminium air fuel cell which, when loaded with an ordinary empty tin can, provides sufficient energy to charge a mobile phone or an ipod or power it's onboard LED lights for two weeks. When all of the energy has been extracted from the can you simply recycle it in the normal way and then pop another empty can into the iCan for up to two more weeks of power.
The iCan is the first product from iCanique. The iCan is an aluminium air fuel cell which, when loaded with an ordinary empty tin can, provides sufficient energy to charge a mobile phone or an ipod or power it's onboard LED lights for two weeks. When all of the energy has been extracted from the can you simply recycle it in the normal way and then pop another empty can into the iCan for up to two more weeks of power.
The market
It's easy to see an immediate market for the iCan - young environmentally-aware people on the go, who carry rechargeable devices with them everywhere. iCan means that they can stay in touch and powered up wherever they are - at festivals, camping, traveling round the world, on a beach…while making zero environmental impactBut there is another equally important global market: nearly 500 million people worldwide have a mobile phone connection but no access to the electricity grid – and this number will continue to increase (GSMA report Oct 2009 'Off Grid Charging Choices for Mobile Phones'). With current charging solutions being both costly and challenging, people in the developing world can find themselves spending more on powering their phones than on making calls. iCan offers a permanent, sustainable solution to powering their devices.
We believe this will be achieved by working with partners across the developing world to deliver the iCan off grid charging solution, drop us a line if you are interested in discussing this - info@icanique.com
How it works
The aluminium used in the manufacture of most ordinary drinks cans has extraordinary properties, one of which has been largely ignored until now. You may be aware that it's lightweight, and highly recyclable, but it also has a very high stored energy density. This is what the iCan taps into, unlocking the energy by using a special air fuel cell. In the air fuel cell the aluminium is used as a metal electrode within a redox electrochemical reaction to produce useful power.Setting up the iCan is very simple. The iCan comes with a built in cutter, you use that to take off the top of the can, pop that into the base of the can and then slot the whole thing into the bottom flask. Top up the can with concentrated salt water (lower electrical resistance, the iCan comes with a salt tablet) then screw the flask together with the clever cathode bit and the power-head. The iCan will then start to produce sufficient power to charge your mobile and it won't stop for nearly two weeks.