By the end of January, the team of ECOCAPSULE presented the latest version of their self-sustainable smart house. The founders want the first series to be fully produced and shipped throughout the 2018. The first one goes to Japan.
ECOCAPSULE being transported by a helicopter. (Credit: ECOCAPSULE)
Pre-series production of the first exclusive batch of 50 Slovak design and eco-friendly living houses is launching this year. First, it will be just one a month but the developers want to finish the year with 7-8 units a month. Pre-orders came mostly from Japan, EU, Australia, and California. According to the founders, you can find tech geeks, celebrities as well as hotel networks and other high-class customers among the orders. “We are surprised how many people have their own island,” said Tomáš Žáček, the co-founder, with a smile.
The mobile living units leave zero ecological footprint using only energy from sun and wind. According to the website, “the installed solar power is 600 Watts, the low-noise wind turbine is delivering up to 750W during day and night and can produce electricity 24 hours a day. Rainwater is collected on the surface to the water tank and filtered for your convenience.” You can find the full tech specs here.
ECOCAPSULE will be produced in the western parts of Slovakia and the founders would like to keep it that way also in the future. Right now they are preparing the next round of financing through Crowdberry, a Czech-Slovak crowd-investing platform which was also the first-round investor. Ecocapsule plans to use the further investments to build an international trading network and production capacities for mass production.
There are potential further use cases for the ECOCAPSULE in the future such as medical or administrative units for Doctors Without Borders or living facilities for rangers in national parks. This is, however, only possible once the costs of the units will become much lower. For now, the price of one ECOCAPSULE is around 80 000 EUR. By the mid-2018, the founders want to come with a price acceptable also for the middle-class customers.
ECOCAPSULE started out as a project for an international architect competition. In 2009, the Andes Sprouts Society announced a competition called “Small is beautiful” looking for a supplier of an autonomous and mobile units. Tomáš Žáček, Soňa Pohlová, and Igor Žáček from Nice Architects studio applied and worked on the idea. Though they did not win, the ECOCAPSULE project gained international attention. Founders decided to follow up and worked on the first prototype which was publicly unveiled at Vienna’s Pioneers Festival after six years of development on May 28, 2015.
ECOCAPSULE in different environments. (Credit: ECOCAPSULE)
