Tired of charging your laptop everyday; tired of breaking chargers, or tired of running out of juice while working outside? That may soon change. Designer Andrea Ponti recently conceptualized Luce, a laptop computer that would be powered by integrated photovoltaics.

While you could buy a solar charger for your laptop today, you can’t buy a laptop that doesn’t need a charger.

“It doesn't need any plug,” Ponti said. “It is designed to be used in indoor and outdoor; the newest solar cells can produce energy from any kind of light, artificial, too.”

The panels on his sleek design would be incorporated into the laptop’s case—behind the monitor, facing outward, and underneath a touch-based keyboard. The design recently was shortlisted, but didn’t win, the FUJITSU Design Award 2011: A LIFE with Future Computing competition, held by Fujitsu Limited and Fujitsu Design Limited.

At this point, Ponti hasn’t designed a working model of the computer.

“But I [did] good research about components and technology,” Ponti said. He doesn’t think that Fujitsu will put it into production, either. “Now I'm looking for a company interested in production because I cannot do it by myself.”

The device was inspired by nature, Ponti said.

“Of course, as designers, we absolutely need to improve real user's needs, not only superficial things as touch panel technology and PC-power performance,” he said. “The recent disaster in Japan made me realize that my vision was correct. No electricity means no chances to communicate. I dream of a world made by self-natural-powered devices, working in harmony with our planet. Will it will become real?”

It’s likely.

Already some major manufacturers are looking into making their laptops and mobile devices solar-powered. Earlier this year, Apple (NYSE: APPL) recently won a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patent to power portable electronics with photovoltaics. It has other solar-powered patents in the works.

Another company, Wysips (What You See is Photovoltaic Surface), has introduced an invisible, flexible thin-film photovoltaic that could be placed behind a touchscreen’s surface, allowing owners to charge the device on their dashboard or even on their desk.

Image courtesy of Andrea Ponti Design.