this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2026
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Solarpunk
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It's a fucking battery? Sorry Tactical Energy Kit. Except they don't mention any of the important shit to it being a battery. Namely capacity, weight, maximum input power, maximum output power.
I guess it's at least ruggedized. But tbh, it looks like it costs 10x what a jackery does, weighs 2x, holds less energy, but is waterproof.
Apparently yes, and they're a bit late, as the Ecoflow & clones train has already left the station.
If you ask a random Ukrainian drone pilot "how can I support you", one of the more likely answers would be "help our unit get another EcoFlow, or a good clone from the short list".
In their bunkers and base stations, they need lots of portable power without a thermal signature. Best if silent too, but most imporantly, it has to be cool. Generators are kept far at the back in really safe places, because they shine quite brightly in thermal vision. They also need oxygen and output poisonous exhaust, so you can't take them to the same bunker as people.
My point is this kind of device is being narrativized as a military weapon but if you take a step back and tilt your view a bit it is actually the most solarpunk thing ever.
You don't have to just power weapons with all that portable power and you also don't have to leverage the minimally invasive, stealthy nature of the device only to the aims of war. There are a million other uses, especially having to do with conducting scientific research with advanced instruments in rugged conditions that would otherwise require something far more invasive like a gas generator to power or would flat out not be feasible.
Also electronic music performances I imagine will be able to get a lot more absurd and exploratory in staging with this kind of technology.
OK but, how is this any different from a battery generators I can pick up from Harbor Freight or Jackery?
Against this device? Weight and rugged design specifications.
Yeah but, what about all the other battery generators that have already existed for years? Small rugged generators are already a thing, why is this one different? What am I missing here?
Why are those things important for solarpunk though? Why is that the most solarpunk thing ever, when equally (arguably more) capable portable battery packs have existed for at least a decade. I have a half dozen of various sizes, they are very rugged and some of them are very lightweight. (The better ones use LiFePo4 batteries and are vastly safer but therefore also somewhat heavier relative to their power and capacity but you can choose whichever you prefer to optimize for)