Olafur Eliasson and the power of the sun

First Olafur Eliasson invented the Little Sun solar-powered lamp for parts of the world without electricity (and Glastonbury). Now the artist has come up with a solar-powered phone charger

Installation artist Olafur Eliasson was born in Copenhagen in 1967 to Icelandic parents. He is best known for creating a giant sun in Tate Modern's Turbine Hall in 2003, viewed by more than 2 million people, and for making four dramatic waterfalls in New York harbour in 2008. In 2012, he launched Little Sun solar-powered lamps for areas of the globe with no electricity (though they have also proved popular at music festivals in the developed world). This month, he releases the Little Sun Charge, which uses solar energy to power mobile phones.

How successful has the Little Sun lamp been?
Right now, for every lamp we sell in on-grid areas of the world - where people have access to power, like the UK - we deliver two lamps at cost price in, for instance, rural Africa. And in May, we expect to cross the half-a-million-lamps line. That's our next little target.