Protem Lighting at Wales Tech Week
Frances Jenkins Founder Co-CEO of Protem Lighting at Wales Tech Week 25th November 2025
Frances Jenkins Founder Co-CEO of Protem Lighting and Protem Power spoke at Wales Tech Week about the Protempod Project funded by Media Cymru and Ffilm Cymru to explore a renewable replacement for diesel generators in the screen industries.
“The problem Protem are trying to solve is that film sets need a temporary uninterrupted power supply, or UPS, when filming on location i.e. away from the studio. Running out of power is the top hassle for gaffers, who are the heads of the lighting and electrical department. It causes them stress, a bit like the “range anxiety” experienced by EV drivers.
Diesel generators have traditionally provided this UPS because they are very reliable. However burning diesel is causing climate change, we are currently on course for 2.6°C warming, and can expect ice loss leading to catastrophic sea level rises; extreme weather events; water scarcity; desertification and much more. Diesel generators are only just 30 to 40% efficient. They emit carbon monoxide; benzene; arsenic; formaldehyde, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - dangerous for crew. They are subject to increasing legislation i.e in ULEZ or CAZ zones. They’re noisy and must be placed away from set, causing long cable runs. Diesel is also flammable, spillable and needs to be contained on set in bowsers and must be refilled by the locations department.
The Fuel Project by Film London revealed that 98% of productions use larger generators than needed. This is known as “over-speccing” and is due to a lack of power planning and a 'just in case' mindset whereby giant diesel generators are hired for big draw days but end up being used for daylight exterior scenes where no big lights are needed, effectively powering just the tea urn and a few cameras and laptops. It’s overkill - like using a volcano to toast a marshmallow.
Protempod battery mobile power units (or MPUs) are unique because they contain “hot-swappable” Lithium Iron Phosphate battery packs and a separate inverter. Users can switch automatically between battery packs meaning one can be taken away for renewable charging without disrupting the shoot, meaning a potentially infinite battery UPS, eliminating runtime anxiety. We interviewed top industry professionals to produce exactly what is needed on set.
Battery energy storage solutions, or BESS, technologies were introduced to sets around 2018, and by 2024 they accounted for 22% of on set power supplies. We found in our research that large skid-set style batteries designed for construction are too big and heavy for film sets, requiring cranes to move them. Our hyper-portable modular system allows for tailored lighting positions that meet but do not exceed power requirements leading to massive efficiency gains of over 90% and reduced fuel costs. Great for the planet AND the bottom line.
The BBC, Netflix, Sky and Channel 4 increasingly require BAFTA albert sustainability certification from production companies to show that they have measured and reduced their carbon footprint, a significant administrative hassle that we will solve with our smart battery management system (or BMS). Our convenient mobile app will allow for remote collaborative working. We will combine Protempods with a battery pack EV delivery service to tackle scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
Our innovation also has applications in live events; theatre; construction; catering; medicine; telecoms; humanitarian response and defence.
