Aussie entrepreneur launches 6 kW / 7.2 kWh mobile solar generator

Decarbon Venture, a startup cofounded by an outback-living Australian entrepreneur, has launched what it claims to be the world’s first “swappable” solar generator at half the weight and double the power rating of other products on the market.

Image: Decarbon Venture

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It was engineer Geoff Elwood’s experience of lockdown in the Australian outback which inspired him to develop a new range of mobile solar generators, he says. With 7.2 kWh of storage and 6 kW of power, Decarbon Venture says its products are the most powerful mobile generators on the market today and outdo gas rivals.

“They are also much lighter and less expensive to operate than equivalent gas-powered generators,” Decarbon Venture cofounder Geoff Eldwood said.

The DCV AirBase ecosystem, as it is dubbed, includes foldable 400W solar panels which connect to a semi-solid state battery. The storage component is modular and comes in three variations:

  • AirBase Quad, with 7.2 kWh of storage, weighing 42 kg
  • AirBase Duo, with 3.6 kWh of storage, weighing 22 kg
  • AirBase Power Module, with 1.8 kWh at 8 kg

In terms of pricing, the Airbase Quad comes it at USD 6500 ($9,670), and the Duo product at USD 3299 ($4,900).

The system is designed for car camping, boating, off-grid living, and potentially home backups. This is a highly popular market segment among Chinese manufacturers, with a multitude of such products on display at the Smart Energy Conference in May.

Decarbon Venture’s, however, emphasises its Australian-outback readiness – which is a decidedly tough natural environmental. 

The company also says it is the first such product to allow batteries to be removed and replaced with fresh batteries without powering down. “I wanted to build an evergreen solution that uses modular power cells that can be swapped when needed, and can be scaled up or down,” Elwood said.

Decarbon Venture’s family of AirBase generators will be sold first as a Kickstarter campaign in late August 2023, and can be distributed globally.

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