Lollapalooza’s main stage will be powered using a hybrid battery system, festival producer C3 Presents has announced.

The festival kicks off this week (1–5 August) in Grant Park, Chicago, featuring acts such as SZA, Tyler, The Creator, blink-182, The Killers, Hozier and Future x Metro Boomin.

For this edition, audio, lighting, video and stage production will all run on a hybrid battery system and the stage will deploy more than 1.5 Mwh of battery storage capacity to reduce the usage of biodiesel-powered generators.

The batteries, manufactured by Swedish industrial tools and equipment company Atlas Copco, will be deployed by CES Power, which provides temporary event power generation, power distribution, and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) for festivals, film and broadcast, major events, and industrial projects.

Organisers say that the reusable batteries will be charged using diesel generators that run on biodiesel fuel, typically made from renewable sources.

Green Nation (Live Nation’s sustainability initiative), T-Mobile and CES Power have partnered with C3 Presents on the initiative.

“We have set a goal to build a more sustainable future for music festivals, which requires taking bold steps to find solutions that can reinvent how we operate and in turn, build industry trust in new technology so that major live events can see a path towards becoming more energy efficient,” says Jake Perry, C3 Presents director of operations and sustainability.

“Lollapalooza is a leader in sustainable solutions, and we are proud to have aligned ourselves with partners that have the same passion and experience to execute this mission.”

“We look forward to sharing the results and learnings from Lollapalooza with our network of over 200-plus festivals”

Lucy August-Perna, Live Nation’s head of global sustainability, adds: “Solutions like the ones Lollapalooza are pioneering not only contribute toward our global Green Nation goal of cutting our emissions in half by 2030, but they provide local benefits as well through reduced noise and air pollution which creates a better experience overall for the artists, fans and crew. We look forward to sharing the results and learnings from Lollapalooza with our network of over 200-plus festivals around the world who are committed to raising the bar for more sustainable live events.”

The new sustainability initiative comes after Billie Eilish powered her headline set at Lollapalooza 2023 using solar-powered, intelligent battery systems via a partnership with nonprofit organisation REVERB.

Also last year, Lolla organisers received an Illinois Sustainability Award in 2023 for their efforts to preserve Grant Park, including recycling and composting eco-friendly items at Chow Town, providing patrons with free filtered water at hydration stations and using the TURN reusable cup system, which avoids the use of single-use plastic cups and bottles.

Lolla’s other green initiatives for 2024 include a partnership with Re:wild, a conservation organisation co-founded in 2021 by actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

Under the partnership, Lolla will support Re:wild’s projects with a financial commitment, amplify the organisation’s environmental education through its channels, and dedicate space at its festival for partners to speak directly to attendees.

Other festivals that have recently stepped up their green efforts include Latitude Festival (UK), Electric Picnic (IE) and Isle of Wight Festival (UK).

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Danish pop band Lukas Graham says it will embark on the ‘first-ever’ concert tour powered by transportable batteries containing green electricity.

The band has teamed up with renewable-technology company Vesta for the ‘In The Round’ tour, which comprises six outdoor shows around Denmark this August.

“The battery concept effectively replaces diesel generators as a power source for the lights and sound of the concerts, enabling CO2 reductions from the production by up to 98.5% depending on venue-specific conditions,” says Vestas.

The concept, similar to that of electric cars, sees batteries charged with green electricity from one of Vestas’ transformer stations at an off-shore wind farm in Denmark.

The batteries are then delivered to the venue and used to power the production, before being returned to a Vestas station to be recharged for the next concert.

“By replacing carbon-emitting power sources with our battery concept, we can almost eliminate carbon emissions”

Vestas CEO Henrik Andersen says: “At Vestas, we know the technologies needed to reduce carbon emissions already exist, we just need more industries to use them. Electrification is at the centre of our strategy to build a more sustainable future, and when Lukas Graham reached out, we saw an opportunity to lend our expertise to his vision of building a more sustainable future for music.

“By replacing carbon-emitting power sources with our battery concept, we can almost eliminate carbon emissions from the live performance and pave the way to potentially scale up this solution in the future.”

Graham adds: “As time goes by, I’ve become more aware of the world I live in – aware of the fact, that we’ve got a shared responsibility for our future and that we’ve only got one Earth to pass on to our children. My hope for this experiment with Vestas is of course to build a more sustainable future for the live music industry, one I represent when I go on stage.

“Hopefully, it will inspire people from other industries to seek alternative and greener ways instead of just doing what we know and have always done. It’s the little things that make a big difference – if we do it together.”

Graham is one of a slate of artists including Billie Eilish, Coldplay and Dave Matthews Band that have announced pioneering plans to reduce the carbon footprint left by touring.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.