A group of IT experts in Ukraine are repurposing batteries from used e-cigarettes as mobile power sources, which will be used by frontline soldiers in areas like forests and trenches where electricity is not available.
Volunteers are working around the clock in a generator-powered office on the outskirts of the capital city of Ukraine, Kiev, to produce and supply scarce products.
IT expert Ivan Volynets said, "We have collected electronic cigarettes and found that they contain a completely normal rechargeable lithium battery. It has its own circuit and even has a larger capacity than what is written on the casing." He founded the company Power Kit which manufactures power supplies.
We were very surprised and decided that if we could continue collecting them, we could manufacture portable power sources and provide these devices to soldiers.
So far, volunteers have collected over 5 tons of used e-cigarettes for recycling.
They received assistance from the Ukrainian delivery service Nova Poshta, which transported the discarded e-cigarette equipment to Power Kit free of charge.
According to IT expert Dmytro, each portable power bank has enough storage of energy to fully charge a typical smartphone up to five times. "It also applies to other devices such as drones and radios," he added.
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