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Three U of T Engineering graduates have invented the world’s most energy-efficient light bulb, the NanoLight.

According to Gimmy Chu (ElecE 0T6), Tom Rodinger (IBBME PhD 0T7) and Christian Yan (ElecE 0T6), it’s a breakthrough in LED lighting technology.

Made out of printed circuit-board material that’s folded into the shape of a light bulb, it has what Chu describes as a ‘funky’ shape, but for good reason. It uses only 12 watts of electricity to generate the equivalent output of a 100-watt incandescent bulb.

“We wanted to take our knowledge and skills to create real-world products,” Chu told the Toronto Star. The group, who became friends while on U of T’s Blue Sky Solar Racing team, are now reaching out to distributors and investors, and have also launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the project. So far, they’ve raised more than $125,000 and hope to sell the bulb through the website.

According to Chu, the co-founder of NanoLight, if you burn the bulb for an average of three hours a day, the bulb would last 20 years. “Really, the future of the lighting industry is LEDs,” he said.

To learn more, visit the Toronto Star and U of T News.