Fischer Panda UK helps Sky News cut CO2
Power management specialist Fischer Panda UK has helped broadcaster Sky News reduce carbon emissions and win an industry innovation reward, through the design and installation of hybrid mobile power systems for its newsgathering fleet.
The collaboration with Fischer Panda UK contributed to Sky News being awarded The Broadcast Tech Innovation Award for its sustainable vehicle project in 2021. The aim of the project was to get the vehicles on the road to green transition and to reduce CO2 output when in operational service.
The Sustainable Ranger Project, featured eight Rangers, otherwise known as ‘Rapid News Gathering’ vehicles, run throughout the UK and used for live broadcasting and editing purposes on location.
Celebrating the teams behind the most outstanding broadcast productions, The Broadcast Tech Innovation Awards highlight the creative and technical aspects of the projects and recognise the hard work behind the scenes of content production.
To fulfil the requirements successfully, each of the vehicles needed to be equipped with suitable hybrid power systems, allowing for effective, large power-draw – which is where Fischer Panda UK’s supply, service and expertise came in.
Before the implementation of the project, a Ranger vehicle’s engine would be left running for many hours of the day whilst broadcasting or editing, which resulted in a single vehicle producing its own weight in carbon in just two months.
To address this, Sky aimed to replace its Rangers with alternative vehicles that were effectively more sustainable by design. Even with the rapid recent development in EV zero emission vehicles, Sky found there was still no current vehicle fit for purpose for their particular role.
Until suitable developments in EV battery and hydrogen technology came to market, Sky opted to transition its current and new fleet of Rangers with hybrid payload power systems.
Fischer Panda UK worked with Sky’s Vehicle Technology department to create a system for the vehicles, so they could be used daily for core functions such as news reporting with the engine turned off.
To enable this, Mastervolt Lithium-Ion batteries were selected for their quick charging performance, light weight and to enable the Rangers to easily deploy to any location at any given time.
A mains power hook-up is a key feature, which enables each vehicle to run equipment and to charge batteries whenever mains power is available, either on location or back at base to ensure the on-board Payload power system is always deployed 100 per cent fully charged. This maximises the zero-emission broadcast and editing time on-site.
Solar panels are installed onto the roof of each vehicle, to address standby power losses and/or for occasions when the vehicles are parked up outside when not in use. These also provide some small additional charge to further extend zero-emission times and keep the batteries topped up.
The Payload power system onboard the Rangers is also recharged while driving, to both top up the Lithium battery and provide further zero-emission run time at vehicles’ next deployment stop. This is carried out by a fully programmable Mastervolt Mac Plus DC Charger that enables maximum charge current from the vehicles’ existing Euro 6 alternator, further improving reliability and reducing vehicles’ main engine emissions.
The Mastervolt on-board monitoring provides the vehicle operator with a clear overview of zero-emission power available in real time, to enable informed decision-making and determine how long critical broadcast and editing equipment can continue to be run before recharging is needed, either through mains hookup or simply by running the engine for a short time to extend transmission time.
The new system has helped bring down Sky’s vehicle emissions by an estimated 105 tonnes of carbon over the fleet of eight vehicles, which in practice are generally now operating with zero emissions when stationary on-site, powering broadcast kit on location.
