Home / Uses / Quiet power at a rural music festival site

Where hydrogen fits on a festival site, and where it does not

A rural music festival is a temporary town with a power network to match. A single 15 kW system will not run a main stage, and this page is honest about that. It looks at where quiet power does fit.

Not the main stage

A main stage PA, lighting rig and video walls draw far more than 15 kW, often many times over. That is outside what this system is designed for, and pretending otherwise would be dishonest. Big stages will keep using large generators or temporary grid connections. The interesting question is the rest of the site.

What it would keep running

First aid tent lights and fridge
Acoustic stage PA and lighting
Production office laptops and radios
Family camping amenity block
Phone charging station

The quiet corners

Festivals have spaces where noise and fumes matter: the first aid tent, the chill-out zone, the acoustic stage, the family camping area and the production office. A first aid tent needs lights, a fridge and chargers. An acoustic stage might run a small PA and some lights. A production office has laptops, radios and a router.

Each of those fits within 15 kW, and the lack of engine noise suits them. A fixed system at a permanent festival site, charged on off-peak power between events, would suit those spaces best, and would sit ready for the next year's event rather than being trucked in.

How it works →

The H2OME loop: an electrolyser splits water into hydrogen, the hydrogen is stored in a tank for weeks, a fuel cell turns it into electricity for your home, and the water returns to the loop.

Permanent sites, not touring rigs

This is designed as a fixed installation, so it suits a festival site used every year, perhaps with an amenity block or a permanent office. Hydrogen keeps for weeks at low pressure, so it can be topped up before the event. Round trip is 30% or less, so it is not cheap energy. Its value is quiet, clean power where people are resting or being treated.

Questions

Could several units run the main stage?

Possibly in theory, but the scale is large. Main stage power is typically much bigger than one system, and a multi-unit setup would need a serious engineering assessment. It is not what we are designing for now.

Can it be set up for a weekend and taken away?

It is designed as a fixed installation, not a touring rig. Trucking it between paddocks would raise different safety, handling and siting questions, so it is not part of the current plan. A permanent festival site with its own buildings is the better match.

Why not just use batteries?

Batteries suit short, predictable loads, and the system has one built in for instant switch-over. Hydrogen holds energy for weeks without losing charge, so a permanent site can stock up on off-peak power before the gates open and carry the quiet areas through a long weekend.

Elsewhere

Every use →

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