Vernon’s Sun Flare Systems will find out tonight whether they will be chosen for the upcoming Future Now episode on the popular CBC television show Dragons’ Den.
The program airs at 8 p.m., and unlike the usual format in the den, the Dragons will not invest their own money, nor take an equity position, in the winning innovation. Instead, Shell Canada will provide a $100,000 investment to help foster Canadian energy innovation.
Sun Flare Systems, a family business started three years ago by Matthew, Joel and Diane Siegler, is one of three finalists for the Future Now episode. They began producing SOS (Solar Operation Simply) in a Box, a solar disaster kit that will generate power anywhere there is available ultraviolet light.
The kit’s thin-film solar modules are durable, yet flexible enough to be rolled up and squeezed into a weatherproof Stanley Tool box. Because the unit weighs less than 50 pounds, it can be transported on airlines.
“This will be a show that the Okanagan will remember for our energy innovation in providing green alternatives,” said Matthew. “This is something every household should hear about.”
