Photos by Dan Thorson
“If you’ve ever seen the picture of Earth at night and what’s lit up and what isn’t, we’re where the light doesn’t show up. We’re going where there isn’t a grid.”
Brian Gramm holds up his hands to indicate remote swaths of Africa and other parts of the world where outsiders rarely venture on an imaginary globe. Because the walls are still bare in Peppermint Energy’s brand new south Sioux Falls office space, the former-accountant-turned-CEO-turned-entrepreneurial-visionary can’t rely on a real map to make his point. However, the passion with which he speaks about his invention and its possible life-saving applications makes additional visual aids unnecessary.
Peppermint Energy makes a portable device called the Forty2 Solar Generator.
“It’s a utility in a box,” explains Gramm. “We’ve shrunk it and made it about three feet by three feet and made it so you can carry it around, so you can take your utility wherever you want it to be. It’s got a pretty significant amount of solar. It’s got battery management in there, so when the sun goes down, you can continue to use it.”
The Forty2 was designed to be as user-friendly as possible. Gramm says as long as a person knows what an outlet looks like, they’ll know how to use it, “There’s nothing to hook up. There’s an on and off switch, which is pretty obvious, but there’s no cords, there’s no instructions. It’s as simple as ‘open it up turn it on, plug in.’”
It’s also affordable. Based on the battery size, the Forty2 ranges in price from $1,500.00 to $2,500.00. The battery size also determines the weight. Ranging between 50 and 70 pounds, most adults can manage it with the help of the carry strap. And even the smallest one can simultaneously charge a half dozen phones, run a small refrigerator, a television, a fan, and several LED lights 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
To read more about Peppermint Energy, pick up the August issue of 605 Magazine or click here to read the full story.
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