Lenovo’s ‘ultra-thin’ laptop charges with energy from the Sun

Lenovo has unveiled its “ultra-thin” concept laptop that is powered by energy from the Sun.

Lenovo’s new laptop charges up using energy from the Sun.

The Chinese tech giant’s new device has solar panels built into the casing, which allows the battery to fill back up when the user is outdoors.

Lenovo believes that people will get an hour of video playback from only 20 minutes of solar charging.

The firm’s new Lenovo Yoga Solar PC was revealed at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona.

The “ultra-slim” laptop measures just 15mm in thickness and is light at 1.22 kilos, the equivalent of about five iPhones.

The device is only a concept for now but could end up on sale one day.

Lenovo say that the idea is that users will be able to “turn any space – indoors or outdoors – into a productive workspace”.

The solar cells are built into the top part of the laptop casing – which holds the screen.

Lenovo claim that its panels have a conversion rate of 24 per cent – a figure defined by how much of the sunlight hitting the panels can be turned into electricity.

This number is usually between 15 and 24 per cent, which places Lenovo’s laptop at the top end of the scale.

Lenovo detailed how it has used ‘Back Contact Cell’ tech, which moves the brackets and gridlines to the back of the solar cells and makes more space for “active absorption”.

The company claims that the laptop will be able to generate power “even in low-light conditions”.

Its rival Samsung did create a solar-powered laptop back in 2011 – which was able to run for an hour for every two hours spent in the sun – but it was very bulky.

By comparison, Lenovo describes its gadget as “the world’s first ultra-slim solar-powered PC” because it measures under 18mm in thickness.