Lenovo’s new concept laptop can be charged by the sun

Lenovo has announced a new concept laptop at Mobile World Congress that encourages you to work outside by reducing your dependence on power cables. The Yoga Solar PC is an early proof of concept device featuring a solar panel integrated into the laptop’s lid. It can harness light from any source to boost its battery, but as with most solar-powered devices, you’ll get the most power while working outside on a clear, sunny day.

The company hasn’t announced any plans to put the Yoga Solar PC into production. However, its ThinkBook Plus Gen 6, featuring an expanding and rollable OLED display, initially debuted as a concept at Mobile World Congress in 2023 but will be available sometime in June 2025 for $3,499.

The Yoga Solar PC’s light-absorbing panel is made up of 84 solar cells featuring a Back Contact cell design. All of the panel’s mounting brackets and electrical contacts that collect and transfer the energy that’s generated are located behind the solar cells. The front of the panel is able to capture more light, allowing Lenovo to achieve a conversion rate – how much of the captured sunlight is converted to usable electricity – of more than 24 percent.

That’s more efficient than most of the silicone-based solar panels used in consumer electronics today, but a bit behind panels featuring an added layer of perovskite film on top that can boost light absorption and efficiencies to up to 43 percent. Even at 24 percent efficiency, Lenovo says the Yoga Solar PC’s panel “can absorb and convert enough solar energy from direct sunlight in 20 minutes to power up to one hour of video playback.” The company says it’s still evaluating how much power is produced in conditions with lower light.

Powered by an Intel Lunar Lake paired with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, the Yoga Solar PC measures in at 15 millimeters thick and weighs around 2.29 pounds with its 14-inch OLED display. To help ensure users are able to best take advantage of the light available to them – whether indoors or outside – the laptop will also feature Lenovo’s Dynamic Solar Tracking system software showing how much current and voltage the solar panel is producing.

For existing Yoga laptop users wanting to reduce their battery anxiety while touching grass, Lenovo also revealed an external solar power kit concept. It’s a standalone solution that opens like a book to reveal a pair of side-by-side solar panels that can be attached to a backpack or stand on its own with a fold-out kickstand. It can connect and deliver power to a device with a USB-C cable, or the sun’s rays can be used to charge an included power bank that can power other devices later. But Lenovo hasn’t announced plans to put it into production yet.

Lenovo created the concept to “bridge the gap between functionality and environmental awareness,” giving users easy access to an alternative energy source. You’d need the weather to cooperate for a while to fully charge the Yoga Solar PC using its relatively small solar panel, but it could be a welcome fallback for when a power outlet is nowhere in reach.