Lukas Graham tour to be powered by green batteries

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.