Freeplay Energy Ltd (

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: FRE), (formerly BayGen Power Industries, Freeplay Energy Group), is a manufacturer and distributor of portable electrical or electronic products such as radios and lights, generally powered by hand cranked generators that charge rechargeable batteries. The company is based in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, UK. The company focuses on creating and developing the international market for self-sufficient energy products, and states that such a focus will help promote education and access to important information throughout the developing world. The company has expanded its market to include outdoor leisure and emergency preparedness markets, seeing the clear demand for self-powered products in such off-grid environments.

History

Clockwork Radio

While watching the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

documentary

Tomorrow's World ''Tomorrow's World'' is a British television series about contemporary developments in science and technology. First broadcast on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003. The ''Tomorrow's World' ...

in April 1994, corporate accountant Christopher Staines realized the potential of an innovative idea from British inventor Trevor Baylis. The

Clockwork Radio Human power is the rate of work (physics), work or energy that is produced from the human body. It can also refer to the power (physics), power (rate of work per time) of a human. Power comes primarily from List of skeletal muscles of the human bo ...

, as the device was first known, was proposed as a means of providing better communication and education in undeveloped areas of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, which could lead to an effective measure in stopping the rampant spread of

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

. Traditional radio, although widespread, relied on an electrical supply or the availability of disposable batteries - both of which were in short supply across the continent. Staines and his business partner,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n Rory Stear, immediately realized that the potential for self-sufficient electronics could go much further than radio and Africa. In 1995, they started Baygen Power Industries in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, which would be renamed in 1999. Starting with a grant from the British Government to develop the Clockwork Radio idea, subsequent investors have included Liberty Life, Gordon and Anita Roddick (of The Body Shop International PLC), The General Electric Pension Trust, South African Capital Growth Fund, and Worldspace Inc.

Wind-up

In 2013, inventor Trevor Baylis admitted he was facing having to sell his home because despite his invention, the wind-up radio, being sold around the world, he was almost bankrupt. He said his problems stemmed from Freeplay Energy, which he had joined in partnership to manufacture his radios. However, they had then altered Baylis' original design which used spring power to one that used a crank that charged an internal battery. This change meant the product was no longer subject to his patents. Baylis began a lobbying campaign to overhaul the patent systems in the UK to protect inventors from

intellectual property theft An intellectual property (IP) infringement is the infringement or violation of an intellectual property right. There are several types of intellectual property rights, such as copyrights, patents, trademarks, industrial designs, plant breeders rig ...

. He said "other countries such as the US and Germany provide far greater protection and support to their engineers and inventors".

Clockwork Torch

While still called Baygen, the company introduced a clockwork torch. Weighing about 1 kg (2 lb), the clockwork torch incorporates two improvements over the clockwork radio. First, the on/off switch mechanically halts the spring mechanism from operating. Secondly, internal energy storage in a small rechargeable battery keeps the torch shining while the spring is rewound. One version of the clockwork torch is enclosed in clear plastic so that the inner workings can be seen.

Further products

In present Freeplay radios and other products, clockwork mechanisms storing energy in a

mainspring A mainspring is a spiral torsion spring of metal ribbon—commonly spring steel—used as a power source in mechanical watches, some clocks, and other clockwork mechanisms. ''Winding'' the timepiece, by turning a knob or key, stores energy in ...

have now been replaced by small batteries charged by cheaper hand-crank generators. Freeplay Energy produces a variety of consumer devices in addition to radios, including flashlights, lanterns, mobile phone chargers, and foot-powered generators. They have partnered with several major brands, including camping equipment giant

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Awards and recognition

Freeplay devices have captured acclaim on multiple occasions. The initial clockwork radio won the "BBC Design Award" in 1996, and the Design Council's

Millennium Product The Millennium Product status was awarded by the Design Council to British products and companies which show "imagination, ingenuity and inspiration" as well as "innovation, creativity and design". Over 4,000 products were submitted, and 1,012 we ...

Award. The "Weza" foot-powered generator won an "Innovation in Water, Sanitation and Energy Services for Poor People" award from the World Bank in 2006. In 2007, the "Indigo" lantern was named a "Consumer Electronics Show Innovations Awards Honoree".

References

External links

Freeplay Energy
{{Authority control Companies based in London