Charge your phone with a candle and the tPOD1

Electricity? . Soon all you're need to charge your mobile phone is a simple tea candle. Well that and the tPOD1, an innovative piece of kit that uses the heat from the candle to generate enough power to charge a phone or light a room.

The tPOD1 (it stands for thermal-electrical power on demand) is about the size of a can of baked beans and is designed to hover directly above a small tea candle. Using the heat from the candle's flame, the tPOD1 transforms it into electricity, storing it within itspower generator.

This generator can then in turn be used to power a compatible battery pack that can be plugged into your iPhone or Android smartphone. Ok so there are a few steps in between lighting the candle and receiving a charge, but for the likes of camping trips where no electrical output is available it should prove useful.

Tellurex, the brains behind the device, is looking beyond camping trips though, claiming their technology could be used in developing countries where no electrical grid is available.

Tellurex Corporation has designed the tPOD1 through funding it has raised from Kickstarter.com. It hopes to begin shipping the product by the end of August, but is asking for donations to ensure they reach this target.