Media
Seattle Times: ‘Spark’ of Seattle idea could charge phones in developing world
If the potential success of a new product can be measured by how many people stop and stare at it, the “JikoPower Spark” is a winner.
I’m sitting at Matt’s in the Market right above Pike Place trying to interview Ryan Ahearn, founder of JikoPower, the company that makes the device, which charges phones using excess heat generated from fire.
But our conversation suffers steady interruptions from curious passers-by.
There’s something about the Mad Max-looking metal cup with a long copper prong and industrial “JikoPower” logo that grabs people’s attention.
GeekWire: Seattle startup JikoPower hopes Kickstarter lights a funding fire under its heat-powered generator
At the19th annual University of Washington Business Plan Competition in May, JikoPower had the hottest idea in the room and took home the $25,000 grand prize. Now the Seattle startup is looking for more funding to get more people charged up about its signature product, the Spark.
A Kickstarter campaign that runs through Nov. 30 is seeking $50,000 to help JikoPower ramp up production of the Spark — a thermoelectric generator that captures and converts excess heat from campfires or stoves into electricity.
Yahoo Tech: Spark uses heat and cold differential to generate electricity to power phones
What works on camping trips can also be useful during disasters and in emerging markets. The JikoPower Spark is a lightweight, portable thermoelectric generator (TEG) that converts waste heat into electricity that can be used to charge and power USB devices. The Spark is currently in a Kickstarter campaign that also focuses on its work in Kenya to bring power to an area where cell phones are common but electricity is not, according to GeekWire.
JikoPower’s goal is to provide people electric power to save energy from other sources, to light their homes, and to stay connected.
Digital Trends: Spark uses heat and cold differential to generate electricity to power phones
What works on camping trips can also be useful during disasters and in emerging markets. The JikoPower Spark is a lightweight, portable thermoelectric generator (TEG) that converts waste heat into electricity that can be used to charge and power USB devices. The Spark is currently in a Kickstarter campaign that also focuses on its work in Kenya to bring power to an area where cell phones are common but electricity is not, according to GeekWire.
New Day Northwest: JikoPower evolves at UW's Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship
JikoPower CEO Ryan Ahearn and Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship Director Connie Bourassa-Shaw visit the show today to talk about how they are bringing something that we take for granted to Africa, and that something is power! Ahearn is one of many students empowered through the UW's Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship.
