A schoolgirl, whose eco-friendly invention won a national engineering competition, has launched her product into the marketplace.
Lisa designed Xorbit – a car dehumidifier with a difference – to enter into an annual science contest at Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls in 2015.
The 15-year-old went on to beat around 200 finalists from across the UK to become Junior Engineer of the Year at the Big Bang Fair, hosted at Birmingham’s NEC.
And yesterday, thanks to her hard graft over the summer, Xorbit finally went on sale at an exclusive location.
“My dad owns a garage, HJ Davies & Son in Abergavenny, and I’ve got a small corner dedicated to Xorbit,” Lisa said.
“I’m really happy with it, it’s so exciting.
“Customers were lovely when I assembled the display, lots of them were asking me what it was.
“I can’t believe it’s happening. I’ve put a lot into it.”
Xorbit is currently on sale at an introductory price of £10, a discount of £2.99 from the full cost.
Lisa invested in a laser cutter with her Big Bang prize fund to help her make the product’s components consistently accurate.
The dehumidifier, which also acts as an air freshener, fits neatly into car cup-holders.
She added: “Everything about Xorbit is now compostable. The silica gel (which enables Xorbit to dehumidify the car) was already eco-friendly, but the cup was made out of plastic.
“Now it’s made out of PLA, a bioplastic, and the fragrance comes from a scented piece of wood, so the whole thing is completely compostable.
“I think this sets it apart even more from what’s already available.”
The idea popped into the budding businesswoman’s head after watching her parents wasting time and money.
“In the winter I noticed my mum and dad were spending a long time trying to demist their cars in the morning. They bought several dehumidifying products that didn’t work too well, because they were not securely fixed in the car and you couldn’t tell if they were still working. I came up with the idea that a dehumidifier could be safely mounted in the car’s cup-holder.
“Furthermore, if an indicating desiccant was used and the container itself was transparent, the user could see it working and know when it was fully saturated.
“I also realised that damp cars often smell horrible, so why not include an air freshener too?
The colourful accessory is available in a variety of scents including berry blast, lemon zest and lavender.
“I also created a more natural option after listening to people’s feedback,” Lisa continued.
“I have learned so many different things since inventing Xorbit, from working with other people and sourcing raw materials, to creating my own website. I’ve found all of the elements to be a lot of fun.
“I think the fact that I designed it makes it even more exciting to see it come this far.”
Lisa will be manning a Xorbit stand at the Christmas gift market in Abergavenny on December 15 and 20.
