On any given day, there are at least two dozen location shoots for film and TV going on in Vancouver.
And every summer in B.C., there are around 30 outdoor music festivals.
What these two entertainment industry activities have in common is that both often use diesel generators to supply power for lighting and sound systems.
For every litre of diesel fuel burned, about 2.4 kilograms of carbon dioxide is produced.
Vancouver startup Portable Electric has a green solution that it says could supplant much of that diesel generation power used by both sectors: mobile rechargeable batteries.
The company is making its debut at the Calgary Stampede, where it is showcasing its products by providing free cellphone charging kiosks powered by its batteries, which are recharged using solar panels.
While the company thinks there are many potential markets, including the resource sector, it’s Vancouver’s film and TV industry that Portable Electric founder Mark Rabin thinks is the biggest market.
“The power requirements for the film industry are so vast,” he said. “This is where we see the big growth in terms of the larger units and hybrid generators.”
Portable Electric makes two products. A small, two-kilowatt/hour battery called the VoltStack Mini is for smaller events and can be recharged using solar panels.
The larger 55-kilowatt/hour VoltStack Boss is designed for larger events like music festivals and film sets. The larger Boss units can be recharged using fast charging stations used for electric vehicles.
Rabin said the company’s business model is based on renting, leasing and franchising.
“We’re looking at franchising or a distribution model, where we’re growing in North America by franchisees that turn into their own rental businesses that work with event planners, the film industry. We’re also speaking with production companies that rent out generators.”
The company rents the VoltStack Minis for $150 per day; the larger mobile charging stations, which come with a technician, rent for $2,500 per day.
Rabin has a master of science degree in energy economics and an MBA with a focus on innovation and energy. He was among the speakers at the Globe 2016 conference in March.
Prior to starting Portable Electric six months ago, Rabin ran Zolair Energy, which provides small-scale hybrid energy systems for off-grid communities in the developing world.
The idea for Portable Electric came last fall when he volunteered as the power co-ordinator for the Great Climate Race. The event needed an off-grid power source, and given its raison d’etre is raising money for renewable energy projects, it didn’t want to use diesel generators.
“I realized there’s really not a lot of commercial devices out there for people who don’t want to use generators,” Rabin said.
He quickly realized there is a big potential market in Vancouver, where he lives, in the entertainment industry.
“We looked around, we did the market research and we saw that there’s a large opportunity here right now to get into this space as quickly as we possibly could,” Rabin said.
The company currently employs eight people. Rabin plans to raise venture capital later this year to finance a new manufacturing facility. He plans to manufacture 50 Boss units and 500 minis in 2017.
