Graphene battery scam.

[GadgetBoy]

Here's another one for you folks to rip apart.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/uze/bold-by-uze-worlds-most-powerful-260w-graphene-power-bank/

[MrMobodies]

Rewards:

Pledge US$ 149 or more
ABOUT £109
1x BOLD PB┃Super Early Bird
Get your Bold Power Bank

😍🔋 Save 48% off the expected RRP of $289

🎁 Want to get more BOLD PBs for your loved ones? Add $149 for every additional BOLD PB.

✈️ Shipping details will be finalized after the campaign ends through post-crowdfunding surveys 📋 at which point shipping costs will be calculated.

INCLUDES:
BOLD Power Bank
ESTIMATED DELIVERY
Dec 2021
SHIPS TO
Anywhere in the world

Rewards aren’t guaranteed, but creators must regularly update backers.

Well that sounds to me like a scam in itself.

If the project meets it's funding goal, the backers get charged and the creators don't have to honor the rewards.

[SiliconWizard]

The good part, of course, is this: "a team of passionate creators using the power of AI to design, conceptualize, and make products."
Okay. My grandma does that too.

Anyway. As the project's main point seems to be that's it's a "Graphene Power Bank", and they have a 3D view showing "Panasonic Lipo Graphene" batteries, we can assume that would be where this graphene thing comes from.

While Panasonic has shown interest in graphene for future batteries, I have seen no sign of any existing product of this kind at the moment. If anyone knows more about it, please give us information. Otherwise, I'll have to call the whole thing vaporware.

[GadgetBoy]

I have dug into the depths of Google scholar. There is no indication that the batteries exist, except in the lab. Panasonic *definitely* isn't producing a graphene battery.

[GadgetBoy]

I'm hoping we can get Dave's attention on this, the pledged amount is getting awfully high for a bunch of scammers.

[Haenk]

Looky-look:
https://chargeasap.com/products/graphene-battery-usb-c-power-bank-20000-flash2-0

They mention to use Tesla batteries.

So the Bold is pretty much the same, poor marketing research by those poor stranded (literally) folks. Bonus points for a really dodgy, nonsense background story.
Pictures look like Denmark, which has extremely good 4G coverage. So check with Google maps where your are, call Falk and there you go. Or just walk across the Dunes (like they did on the next day, after sleeping in their cars?!?), there are weekend residences *everywhere*.

[PlainName]

Well that sounds to me like a scam in itself.

If the project meets it's funding goal, the backers get charged and the creators don't have to honor the rewards.

Note the astoundingly low funding goal of £3,644 - I think they realise Indigogo's reputation has made it unreliable as a money pit.

[Kean]

So in the latest update on the Bold by Uze Kickstarter they posted a video showing testing of their power bank supposedly under 250+W load.

Update: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/uze/bold-by-uze-worlds-most-powerful-260w-graphene-power-bank/posts/3346232
Video:

The wiring and test clips used in that video are rather flimsy to be carrying 5A with no voltage drop to the loads - 20V +/-10mV.  Seems awfully suspicious to me.   
They've also announed they are using 21700 cells instead of the original 18650 size.  Seems like that would change the overall dimensions, but no mention of that.

[Gyro]

Everything is better with Graphene!

[SiliconWizard]

Everything is better with some AI too!

[Kean]

Well this campaign & product ended up just as expected.

A small sample of recent comments

Mine just died. It refused to charge or recharge.

Well it worked…. for 2 weeks. That was money down the drain

Charged to full only once.
Powered my MacBook for maybe half hour.
Second attempt to charge noticed C2 port not charging. 0.1W on display with a clear smell of burned PCB/IC coming from within the brick, A1 still working.
Ok I thought, message support, got a bad port, keep charging on C1, walk away.
Came back, noticed we are at 85% test C2… nope, not even charging an iPhone,
check C2, iPhone not charging, plug back in to wall, not taking a charge on either C port, message support again on the same email.
It’s been a week with no response.
7 days later, have no response from the email address

Is there there someone who is competent to do strip-down of the brick without burning the house down. At least we would know what kind of components were used and what has failed.

[MrMobodies]

Maybe they could send it to BigClive for a teardown that would be interesting.

[Kean]

Maybe they could send it to BigClive for a teardown that would be interesting.

Agreed.  I replied to that backer suggesting exactly that.

Yes I did back this project for $1 just to watch the near guaranteed train wreck.

[AlbertL]

Everything is better with some AI too!

Don't forget blockchain and nanotechnology!