Lollapalooza Ups Sustainability Efforts With Hybrid Battery System Powering Main Stage

Lollapalooza is making history this week, and it has nothing to do with having a stacked lineup headlined by SZA, Tyler, The Creator, blink-182, The Killers, Hozier and Future x Metro Boomin. The four-day event taking place at Chicago’s Grant Park will be the first major U.S. music festival to power the main stage using a hybrid battery system, festival producer C3 Presents announced.

“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,” Jake Perry, C3 Presents director of operations and sustainability, said in a statement. “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.”

Audio, lighting, video and stage production will all run on the hybrid battery system — an effort done in partnership with Green Nation (Live Nation’s sustainability initiative), T-Mobile and CES Power — and the stage will deploy more than 1.5 Mwh of battery storage capacity to significantly reduce the usage of biodiesel-powered generators.

“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,” Lucy August-Perna, Live Nation’s head of global sustainability, said in a release. “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.”

In addition to the groundbreaking hybrid battery-powered main stage, Lollapalooza will have an activation from festival partner Re:wild, a group founded by conservation scientists along with actor Leonardo DiCaprio. The organization will have a presence at the event and educate music fans on sustainability efforts in their daily lives, including a plant-based diet. Lollapalooza has expanded its plant-based offerings this year by developing a standalone food court that will feature several vendors serving entirely plant-based foods.

Lollapalooza is doubling down on its commitment to sustainable festival practices. Festival organizers 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.

Young superstar Billie Eilish also helped pave the way for eco-friendly festivals last year when she closed the first night of Lollapalooza using solar-powered, intelligent battery systems for her headlining set at Grant Park, a move done in partnership with nonprofit organization REVERB.

Limited tickets are still available for this year’s major festival and are available at www.lollapalooza.com.