New publications
Unwanted batteries from old laptops will help with the lighting of troubled regions
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
India's leading research organization IBM Research India has decided to use waste electronics to help people who currently live without access to electricity.
One environmental company estimates that more than fifty million desktop PCs and laptops end up in landfills every year, and that's in the United States alone.
Most of us are used to simply flipping a switch to turn on the lights in a room when needed. But today, many people on the planet lack access to electricity. For example, in some areas of India, approximately four hundred million people live without access to electricity at present, and it is estimated that it would cost up to $10,000 per kilometer to bring power lines to these areas.
Therefore, lighting problems in some regions of India today are extremely acute and require a fairly inexpensive solution.
IBM Research India has decided to combine two problems: electricity and e-waste. The researchers plan to use recycled batteries from unwanted laptops to power LED backlighting in developing countries.
In some regions, the lighting problem is solved by using LED bulbs that are connected to a solar-powered battery. But a new method from IBM Research could significantly reduce the cost of electricity, allowing more people to have the light they need.
The most expensive part of the system is the battery, says Vikas Chandan, the leader of the new research project. But it is the part that ends up in the trash every year. Chadman's team took apart several batteries that were used in laptops and extracted the battery cells. After testing the batteries, they reassembled and used only working samples.
The specialists also added the necessary electronics and charging controllers. After all the changes, the specialists gave the kits to residents of problem areas of India who were in dire need of lighting. The residents of these areas lived in slums or sidewalk carts converted into some semblance of housing.
The trial period for the new type of lighting lasted three months, which showed that the old laptop batteries did their job perfectly.
People who tested the new lighting asked the developers to make the bulbs brighter and improve the wires so that rats couldn't chew through them (in the end, the developers took all their requests into account).
The team noted that more than half of all batteries that end up in landfills could provide enough energy to power LED lights in homes for 12 months (assuming no more than four hours of use per day).
This project shows that thousands of batteries that end up in the trash and pollute our planet can help thousands of people light their homes. At the same time, IBM Research India noted that their research will not pursue commercial goals; the developers intend to offer such kits in countries where there is an urgent need for lighting absolutely free of charge.