They may be a great forum for freewheeling and idealistic environmental thinking, but it turns out most festivals are anything but green. Leaving aside the litter and the carbon footprint associated with thousands of revellers traveling to one site, each of the summer's festivals will rely on hundreds of diesel generators to power the stages, tents and food stands.
But now London theatre company Arcola is looking to tackle the problem with the development of a zero-emission fuel cell-powered lighting rig that promises to provide the UK's first low-carbon theatre and concert experience.
The Dalston-based theatre has launched a spin-off firm, Arcola Energy, that has just completed its first fuel cell system with the aid of a £27,000 grant from the UK's Technology Strategy Board and it is now expected to be used at this summer's Latitude Festival in Suffolk.
Speaking to BusinessGreen.com, Arcola Energy executive director Dr Ben Todd said the company had integrated technology from fuel cell developer and hydrogen supplier BOC and theatrical lighting specialist White Light to deliver a portable system for lighting technicians working in theatres, concert venues and festivals.
"We've taken off-the-shelf fuel cell technology and low-energy LED lights, added industry-standard connectors, control panels and battery backup power, and packed it all up in a standard flight case," he explained, adding that the use of LED lights meant that a full lighting rig could be powered using one 150 watt fuel cell.
The company believes that even using hydrogen produced from natural gas the system will cut carbon emissions by between 60 and 80 per cent compared to diesel generators, while also cutting noise levels and onsite pollution.
"The smallest diesel generator you can get is usually much larger than what you need in a theatre or concert, so they end up proving very inefficient," Todd added. "It's almost like pouring diesel on the ground."
The company is now looking to commercialise the technology and expects to price the system at about £5,000-£6,000 per unit, although White Light will also offer its customers the chance to hire the system for events.
It is also working on new theatre and concert applications for the fuel cell and is looking at developing a larger lighting rig based BOC's larger 500 watt fuel cell. "The system can be easily adapted to run kiosks or other parts of the festival site and there is also potential for architectural lighting," said Todd. "It is a niche market, but it's a pretty big niche."
The Technology Strategy Board's David Bott praised the new system as a prime example of a company taking direct action to cut its own carbon emission and finding a way to commercialise its innovations. "This is a great story of a company taking ownership of its carbon emissions and applying its expertise to tackle the problem," he said.
But now London theatre company Arcola is looking to tackle the problem with the development of a zero-emission fuel cell-powered lighting rig that promises to provide the UK's first low-carbon theatre and concert experience.
The Dalston-based theatre has launched a spin-off firm, Arcola Energy, that has just completed its first fuel cell system with the aid of a £27,000 grant from the UK's Technology Strategy Board and it is now expected to be used at this summer's Latitude Festival in Suffolk.
Speaking to BusinessGreen.com, Arcola Energy executive director Dr Ben Todd said the company had integrated technology from fuel cell developer and hydrogen supplier BOC and theatrical lighting specialist White Light to deliver a portable system for lighting technicians working in theatres, concert venues and festivals.
"We've taken off-the-shelf fuel cell technology and low-energy LED lights, added industry-standard connectors, control panels and battery backup power, and packed it all up in a standard flight case," he explained, adding that the use of LED lights meant that a full lighting rig could be powered using one 150 watt fuel cell.
The company believes that even using hydrogen produced from natural gas the system will cut carbon emissions by between 60 and 80 per cent compared to diesel generators, while also cutting noise levels and onsite pollution.
"The smallest diesel generator you can get is usually much larger than what you need in a theatre or concert, so they end up proving very inefficient," Todd added. "It's almost like pouring diesel on the ground."
The company is now looking to commercialise the technology and expects to price the system at about £5,000-£6,000 per unit, although White Light will also offer its customers the chance to hire the system for events.
It is also working on new theatre and concert applications for the fuel cell and is looking at developing a larger lighting rig based BOC's larger 500 watt fuel cell. "The system can be easily adapted to run kiosks or other parts of the festival site and there is also potential for architectural lighting," said Todd. "It is a niche market, but it's a pretty big niche."
The Technology Strategy Board's David Bott praised the new system as a prime example of a company taking direct action to cut its own carbon emission and finding a way to commercialise its innovations. "This is a great story of a company taking ownership of its carbon emissions and applying its expertise to tackle the problem," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment