Pablo Vidarte: Inventor of a mobile phone charger that gets energy from plants

By Lamia Hassan

Name: Pablo Vedarte.

Date of Birth: March 29, 1996 AD.

Nationality: Spanish.

Company name: Bioo to generate electricity from photosynthesis processes.

Not only did he find entertainment in technology and video games, but he also harnessed his knowledge to develop his work; Until he became an inventor at a young age. He caught the world’s attention when he invented a plant-based mobile phone battery charger, and he’s also the author of two books on technology, and he still has a lot to do in this field. So what was the success story of Pablo Vedarte, the Young Spanish Entrepreneur?

Study programming

Vedarte was born on March 29, 1996 in Seville, Spain, and is the eldest son of a middle-class family. Since his early childhood he was fond of video games. Then he began to study programming at the age of twelve, so he created and developed experimental applications, in addition to some games; What prompted him to publish his first book at the age of 16, then he won the Cambridge University Filmmaking Prize at the same age, and then set up a company called Arkyne Tech.

Scientific progress

At the age of 17, he began studying engines in high school, and conducted a research paper on external combustion engines, in balance with studies conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This enhanced his participation in the final of the National Innovation Award, which was established by the agency in cooperation with Google in Budapest.

At the age of 18, Vedarte traveled to Barcelona to study engineering, he renewed his interest in computer programming, and evolved from surveillance software to evolutionary artificial intelligence, capable of learning and creating virtual communities.

Founding of Bioo

Vedarte has shown an interest in hardware development and the business world. He founded his first technology company, with his friend Javier Rodriguez Macías; A student of nanoparticle technology. He also published his second book at the age of 21.

His first company aimed at developing technology products at all stages, even production by the best legal means, under the name “Geoo”. The project was launched with a successful prototype, from the manufacture of GPS devices, and then developed the idea thanks to its rapid growth; Until he decided to change the name of the project to “Bioo”, after a year of research and development.

Bioo was established in 2016 as a project to generate electricity from factories, based on global research related to fuel cell technology applied to water treatment. Vedarte and his team have developed a series of prototype biological reactors that are able to provide energy from decaying carbon, based on organic matter found in plants, and those that have been expelled naturally from the roots.

Journey to success

During his journey, Vedarte faced many obstacles; The first was the ability to replicate bio-batteries in industrial storage units, given that the first reactors required high maintenance, and were distinguished by their ability to produce individually after the development of the previous laboratory.

Biofuels

Vedarte was keen to focus on unifying the industrial replication model of reactors, and attracting investments to his idea. His first round was with the reaping of funding with the participation of 20 investors from the private sector and biotechnology companies, which are interested in biofuels and green chemistry, amounting to 311,000 euros.

A year later, the goal of the company was achieved; The batteries were ready-to-measure, capable of producing bioplates, and constant amounts of electricity, all day long, day or night, taking into account rain or snowfall.

Idea development

The company relied on two lines of business:

• The first: represented in the research and development line; to apply its technology on a larger scale.

• The second: the production line, which aims to launch smaller products according to technological foundations.

About the introduction of this line, Vedarte said that the main goal of it is not economic repetition, but rather the preservation of the research and development line, while creating global awareness of technology.

The company provided models for education, taking a multidisciplinary educational model, and launched several projects related to different applications.

Charging batteries through plants

In May 2016, Vedarte demonstrated a new form of a mobile phone battery charger, and it was a potted plant equipped with a USB socket, that would receive the chemical and biological energy generated by the materials in the same pot, and through the process of photosynthesis in the plant itself. This energy can charge the phone battery in an environmentally friendly way.

Bioo has received – since its inception – financial support from the European Union, estimated at more than one million euros; to fund research and development, given the belief of the Spanish government in Vedarte’s ideas. This prompted the government to invite him to represent her kingdom at the World Future Energy Exhibition in 2017, and the company also obtained the privilege of staying at the Permanent Future Energy Museum in Astana.

Special philosophy

Forbes included Vedarte in the list of the most influential and talented young people in the world under the age of thirty; For his fondness for technology that influenced his inventions, which moved Spain to a higher horizon in this field, he also won several awards in Barcelona, ​​Madrid, and London.

Lessons learned:

1. Constant innovation: the entrepreneur seeks to innovate everything that is new, and uses advanced information; In order to develop his project idea, and work to produce it in a better way.

2. Continuous research: the entrepreneur’s ideas do not stop at the boundaries of the current business only, but he is constantly searching; In order to provide new opportunities to support his project, whether by financing or developing the idea itself.

3. The different vision: The world of entrepreneurship supports the exceptional view of reality, and its study in a different way; To work to provide the best solutions, technologies, and achieve profits continuously.