Charge your gadget by tree

If you're stuck for a way to charge your iPhone then this new product, the Electree, might be just the ticket.  

This great gadget is shaped after a bonsai tree, but instead of leaves it has solar panels on its branches. It stores up the energy it collects allowing you to charge your gadgets wirelessly.  

But it comes at a price - around about £175 if you can get your hands on one.

Working up a sweat

Here's a great viral ad from France.

Combining exercise bikes, a neon male stripper, DJ decks and several fit Parisians, the ad encourage exercise with the reward of an animated striptease.

A great bit of fun.      

 

Scottish Minister for Energy takes a look at FoundOcean

The Think Tank attended the Global Offshore Wind Conference & Exhibition (13 - 14th June) in London to support our client FoundOcean, the subsea and offshore grouting specialist for the global energy construction industry.  

We worked with them throughout the event, set up media interviews and arranged for Scottish Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism, Fergus Ewing, to visit their exhibition stand which FoundOcean shared with BASF Construction Chemicals.  

The Minister congratulated both companies on the recent Gwynt Y Môr Offshore Wind Farm Limited contract win and at the same time met with the representatives of RWE, the wind farm owner.

(left to right ) FoundOcean: Keith Miller, Chairman. RWE: Mike Nolan, Gwynt y Môr Procurement Manager and Alastair Gill, RWE npower Renewables. Fergus Ewing, Scottish Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism. BASF: Chris Fletcher, Head of Construction Chemicals - UK & Ireland. FoundOcean: Jim Bell, Managing Director.

Scottish Minister for Energy opens FoundOcean’s Livingston facility

The Think Tank headed to Livingston, Scotland last week to help with the official opening ceremony of FoundOcean’s newly expanded Offshore Service Base. The event was held to celebrate FoundOcean’s achievements and the Scottish Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism, Fergus Ewing, was guest of honour. He gave a passionate and humorous speech to the delight of the guests – in spite of an influx of overhead aircraft seemingly trying to drown out his voice! 



While stressing the need for businesses like FoundOcean to be able to transfer their technologies, services and products between industry sectors, Fergus also remarked that he had come a long way since the first opening ceremony where he was guest of honour, at a sewage works 12 years ago!  



The event also included guided tours around the facilities with FoundOcean’s offshore personnel explaining the function of equipment to the guests – representatives of offshore oil and gas, and renewables companies, industry bodies, media and even the RNLI. 



FoundOcean is the global leader in subsea and offshore grouting, which to translate into layman’s terms means fixing offshore structures like oil and gas platforms and wind farms to the sea bed. 



The opening ceremony was a huge success and with more offshore projects in the pipeline than ever before the future looks bright for FoundOcean. The company is celebrating doubling its revenue and personnel since 2009.



Find out more about Found Ocean here.

The Heat That Gives You Energy

When ecological means multiple advanced technologies and elegant design, the result is uber cool. Young French designer Vincent Gobin did this with TESLA, the ecological radiator that charges your mobile phones, iPods, music players, etc. With incorporated thermo-electrical batteries that convert heat into electricity, it will energize your gadgets through elecromagnetic induction while heating your room.
No more more ugly black coloured entagled wires. Just a sleek black design that irons out all your charging whoes.

Click here to read more.

Sustainable Kettle Mug: The coolest way to heat up your water

It's no secret that boiling a kettle takes an enormous amount of electricity, but did you know that the energy required to boil this amount of water is sufficient to power 50 light bulbs?

Designer Rio Soetanto has been tackling the issue and created the ingenious 'Sustainable Kettle Mug' based on induction heating which conserves energy. This innovative kettle is apt for everyday users and is personalized with six mugs for the entire family. The kettle is made of lightweight, not-toxic, recyclable ABS plastic and can withstand very high temperatures of 105 °C (221 °F), while the induction system helps in improving the boiling time.  As the water is boiled in the mugs themselves you don't even need to pour anything. Eco friendly and uber cool, putting the kettle on has never been such a good idea.