company industry clean energy consumer electronics founded 1994 headquarters london uk key people john mcgrath managing director products radios flashlights lanterns mobile phone chargers . revenue usd 26m 2006 slogan power for good website freeplay energy freeplay energy ltd aim 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 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 . 1 contents 1 history 1.1 clockwork radio 1.2 clockwork torch 1.3 further products 2 awards and recognition 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit clockwork radio edit while watching the bbc documentary tomorrow s world in april 1994 corporate accountant christopher staines realized the potential of an innovative idea from british inventor trevor baylis . 2 the clockwork radio as the device was first known was proposed as a means of providing better communication and education in undeveloped areas of africa which could lead to an effective measure in stopping the rampant spread of aids . 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 african 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 south africa which would be renamed in 1999 . 3 starting with a grant from the british government to develop the clockwork radio idea subsequent investors have included liberty life 4 gordon and anita roddick of the body shop international plc 5 the general electric pension trust 6 south african capital growth fund and worldspace inc. 7 bayliss lost control of his design when baygen became freeplay which has reverted to a cheaper disposable battery powered radio . clockwork torch edit while still called baygen the company introduced a clockwork torch . weighing about 1 kg 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 edit in present freeplay radios and other products clockwork mechanisms storing energy in a mainspring have now been replaced by small batteries charged by cheaper hand crank generators . 8 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 coleman . 9 awards and recognition edit freeplay devices have captured acclaim on multiple occasions . the initial clockwork radio won the bbc design award in 1996 10 and the design council s millennium product award . 11 the weza foot powered generator won an innovation in water sanitation and energy services for poor people award from the world bank in 2006 . 12 in 2007 the indigo lantern was named a consumer electronics show innovations awards honoree . 13 see also edit lifeline energy another company making wind up radios human powered equipment mechanically powered flashlight references edit freeplay energy . freeplay energy . retrieved 2010 11 11 . about us . freeplay energy . retrieved 2012 05 29 . life after bankruptcy . sustainabletimes.ca . retrieved 2010 11 11 . about trevor baylis the inventor of the windup radio . windupradio.com . retrieved 2010 11 11 . 1 archived september 30 2006 at the wayback machine . sa wind up radio turns general electric on . btimes.co.za . retrieved 2010 11 11 . worldspace invests 6m in wind up digital radio computergram international find articles at bnet . findarticles.com . 1998 05 26 . retrieved 2010 11 11 . about us . freeplay energy . retrieved 2012 05 29 . freeplay and coleman debut new self sufficient radio and flashlight at ces 2002 . business wire highbeam research free article . encyclopedia.com . 2002 01 08 . retrieved 2010 11 11 . the panorama of british life technology business internet news milestones life people upcoming events . britannia.com . retrieved 2010 11 11 . millennium products pdf . design council . retrieved 5 june 2013 . 2 archived march 9 2007 at the wayback machine . 3 archived july 1 2007 at the wayback machine . external links edit freeplay energy retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title freeplay energy & oldid 700786241 categories companies based in londonhidden categories articles with wayback machine links navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 20 january 2016 at 16 44 . text is available under the creative commons attribution 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