Why does my phone take so long to charge?
Your phone uses lithium batteries that recharge slowly. If lithium batteries are charged too quickly or overcharged they can catch fire or even explode. The standard USB charge adapters and cables provide a low-rate of charge to protect the phones from being overcharged. The bigger the phone or tablet, generally the bigger the internal battery. So the iPhone 6 takes longer to recharge than the iPhone 5 for example.
What is a supercapacitor?
Supercapacitors are like a battery capacitor hybrid. Lithium batteries are used inside phones, tablets and laptops because they discharge slowly, giving you many hours of usage, but they have to charged slowly. If you are familiar with electronics you may be familiar with capacitors which charge very quickly but also discharge quickly. So if you had a mobile phone using a conventional capacitor it would charge up in seconds, but would only give you a few minutes of talk-time. Supercapacitors are the best of both worlds, they charge quickly like a capacitor, but retain their charge so provide the talk-time of a battery. Existing supercapacitors are made from double wound aluminium foils, and a supercapacitor sufficient to fully recharge a typical Apple iPhone battery would require it being the size of a soda can and weigh about 0.5kg or one pound (1lb). This is too bulky and heavy to package into a phone charger. We are replacing the aluminium with a new advanced carbon material called graphene. Graphene is orders of magnitude more conductive than aluminium and so the foils inside the supercapacitors can be made far thinner and lighter. This means that our new graphene supercapacitors are now small, light and low-cost enough to be made into a competitively priced phone charger.
What about wireless charging?
Wireless charging is great because you don’t have to carry a charge cable. Zap&Go is working with both Qi and A4WP emerging standards.
For wireless charging to work you need a phone such as Sony Experia which has wireless charging built in, and you have to find a compatible charge surface for your device. Today there are two different wireless charging standards: Qi Technology from the Wireless Power Consortium which is working with Microsoft, Verizon, Samsung and Sony, generally working with phones and lower-power devices. The second emerging standard is from the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) which uses similar technology, but can transmit higher levels of power. A4WP members include Canon, Dell, HTC, Intel, and Qualcomm. A4WP can also be used for cordless power tools and cleaners. Both Qi and A4WP require a compatible device to be placed on a special surface or charging mat.
ZAP&GO safety?
To make this possible we have also had to develop two new power supplies. The first power supply takes in the charge to charge up the supercapacitor from either a standard US 115v AC socket or from a standard EU 230v AC socket. This is a new type of patent pending quasi current power supply incorporating electrical and thermal conductive properties of graphene, and able to provide high amperes to charge the graphene supercapacitor quickly.40A from standard EU 230v power socket.
The second power supply takes the variable voltage output from the graphene supercapacitor and regulates it to the 5v USB standard.
The ZAP&GO supercapacitor based charger will use mains power and is safety regulated. The certifications are similar to those stamped on the back of a laptop ‘brick’ charger and will include but are not limited to electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), immunity EN 55022 class B, IEC/EN 61000-3-2, IEC/EN 61000-3-3, IEC/EN 61000-4-2, IEC/EN 61000-4-3, IEC/EN 61000-4-4, IEC/EN 61000-4-5, IEC/EN 61000-4-6, IEC/EN 61000-4-8, IEC/EN 61000-4-11, ENV 50204, criteria A and safety standards UL 60950-1 and IEC/EN 60950-1. The charger will also carry a CE marque.
The ZAP&GO charger and associated packaging is compliant with the standards and certifications and design criteria to meet the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive) or EU directive 2002/96/EC, which together with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS Directive).
But won’t the batteries just get better?
Lithium batteries are getting better all the time, but the reason they charge slowly is that lithium is very sensitive to overcharging. Today it takes 2-4 hours to recharge a smart phone, maybe this will be 1-2 hours soon, but it is unlikely to be a few minutes. The chargers out there that claim they can do it in 15 minutes or less (some claim 30 seconds) require special types of power supplies or adaptors which just add to the clutter.
What is Graphene?
Put simply, Graphene is pure carbon. It takes the form of a very thin, nearly transparent sheet just one atom thick. It is remarkably strong for its very low weight (100 times stronger than steel) and it conducts heat and electricity with great efficiency. It was first produced in the lab in 2004 and from this time many uses and applications have been invented.
How much will a ZAP&GO charger cost?
The price of a ZAP&GO charger is just $149 plus postage and packing.
Will I be able to use my ZAP&GO charger all around the world?
Yes, The ZAP&GO charger is available with all international power plugs and is simple and easy to connect. It is shipped with 5 clip on plug adaptors that cover all sockets around the world.
