LONDON, 7 June 2010. Today Orange releases the Orange Power Wellies, an innovative and groundbreaking eco-mobile phone charging prototype that was designed to keep Glastonbury Festival goers connected with their friends across the weekend.

The Orange Power Wellies, created in co-operation with GotWind renewable energy experts, utilize an unusual ‘power generating sole’ that transforms heat from your feet into an electrical current. You may later use this ‘welectricity’ for recharging your mobile phone. the Orange Power Wellies prototype will be displayed in the site by Orange, Official Communications Partner for the Glastonbury Festival.

Twelve hours of stomping through the Glastonbury Festival in your Orange Power Wellies will provide enough power to charge your mobile phone for an hour. The length of time can be increased if you charge your phone for, simply hot step it to the dance tent as the hotter your feet get, the more energy you generate.

It works in the following way: after a full day’s festival frolics your phone can be plugged into the power output at the top of the welly , after that you may use the energy produced throughout the day for charging your phone. The power stored in the ‘power generating sole’ is collected through the ‘Seebeck’ effect process. Inside the sole that produces power there are thermoelectric modules built of pairs of n-type and p-type semiconductor materials forming a thermocouple. These thermocouples are linked electrically and form an order of various thermocouples (thermopile). Later they are arranged between two thin ceramic wafers. Once the heat from the foot is applied on the upper part of the ceramic wafer and cold is applied on the opposite side, from the cold of the ground, electricity is produced.

Managing Director at GotWind, Dave Pain, announced: “We are happy to cooperate with Orange for four years to create an invaluable charging prototype for festival goers. At the moment Wellies are the staple festival footwear, apart from keeping you dry the Orange Power Wellies also provide an urgent eco electricity source”.
Head of Sponsorship at Orange UK, Andrew Pearcey, reported: “Orange remain loyal to the green ethos of the Glastonbury Festival and are committed to researching exciting new energy sources that may be used on site to guarantee that people are able to stay in touch with their closest and dearest people. Renewable and clean energy is used in the Orange Power Wellies to create valuable electricity ensuring festival goers can text and phone their mates during the weekend”.

The Orange Power Wellies are the latest novelty in the company’s bid to find alternative eco-friendly and sustainable mobile phone charging technologies that can be used at the Glastonbury Festival. Among the previous projects were included the Dance Charger that drew upon kinetic energy created by dancing, Recharge Pod powered by solar energy and wind, as well as the Orange Power Pump that uses the energy created from a traditional foot pump and transforms it into electricity.

During the festival the Orange Chill n Charge area will be onsite with more charging points than ever, exciting new interactive elements. It is also going to feature a soundtrack of stripped back acoustic performances.

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