A Newcastle audio visual company has created a new portable energy system that it says solves problems that have plagued TV, film and festival producers for years.
Reed Ingram Weir, founder and director at Ingram AV, spent the lockdown months thinking about how to produce a sustainable portable energy system that would produce less noise than traditional power generators, while reducing harmful emissions. As a result, the company is now designing and manufacturing the NRG V2 - a 2m x 1.6m unit which fits on to a trailer and is capable of providing 45KVa of clean energy with 120KWh of storage that is expandable.
It means the system could be used to power a festival for about 5,000 people for a day, if being used to power audio and lighting systems, or it could be used to power a location drama unit for a day. The internal elements of NRG V2 were constructed at Ingram AV’s Hoults Yard base in Newcastle, but the external canopy was manufactured in Wales.
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Mr Weir said: “From our initial idea, through to concept models and our first version which was a lot smaller to our upgraded model, we’ve spent more than two years developing NRG V2. Its aimed at TV and film companies or festivals where noise from generators can be a real problem. Traditionally, generators have to be placed some distance from cameras or stages because of the decibels they produce and the fumes they emit.
“I wanted to produce something that did neither, and spent much of lockdown developing NRG V2. It was a time when more people were thinking of air pollution as there were far fewer cars on the roads and the reduction in fumes was clear to see. Our aim was to build a portable power source that was silent and produced zero emissions. We received some welcome support from The Cultural Recovery Fund, but the budget spiralled and NRG V2 is basically self-funded.”
NRG V2 was used properly for the first time earlier this year at a Professional Fighters League (PLF) event at the home of Newcastle Eagles.
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