The best ideas in life are often the most simple and straightforward. This is certainly true in the case of one of Spain's emerging tech companies, Rawlemon, which is aiming to revolutionise the way we transfer the sun's energy into power.

The German-born architect Andre Broessel, who now resides in Barcelona, has devised a way to harness solar energy through a glass see-through ball. Its spherical design acts as the perfect lense to focus energy from the sun and squeeze out as much solar juice as possible. The name Rawlemon could hardly be more apt.

It can generate 70% more energy than conventional photovoltaic panels and, architecturally at least, is far more appealing to the eye. It has the potential for all sorts of applications, from charging a mobile phone to powering an entire home.

The most interesting part of this story, though, is the way in which this innovative Spanish startup raised its capital. The company managed to harness the power of crowdfunding, starting a campaign in January with a target of $120,000, which by the end of February rose to $155,000. It eventually closed in early March at $217,000. Now Broessel is gearing-up to put his product into mass production.
He sees Rawlemon as being the world's answer to smart energy saving. And on this evidence, it's hard to argue with him.

Click here to read this article in Spanish.

Image originally found here.