Festival uses hydrogen-powered main stage

Boomtown is set to have a main stage fuelled entirely by UK-produced green hydrogen.

The stage at the Hampshire festival uses generators that create electricity via hydrogen fuel cells and self-charging Hydrogen Power Unit (HPU) batteries.

The by-products are water and heat only, meaning zero carbon emissions, fumes, or loud diesel noise, organisers said.

"We are really keen to pioneer sustainability," said Ruby Handy, the festival's operations manager.

The stage, HydroXL, opened on Friday and its arena can hold up to 20,000 people.

"We started last year working with a hydrogen company on a smaller scale," Handy said.

"This is brand-new technology for the festival industry so we started smaller, we found it worked.

"Now we have doubled our efforts with it being a main stage."

The adult-only festival is this year hosting 77,000, its largest attendance yet.

But with a heat warning across the South and a drought affecting the region, it has faced issues with dust.

This is partly due to the festival being based in the South Downs, which has lots of limestone and chalk areas.

Boomtown has warned festivalgoers to take precautions like bringing face coverings, wearing sunscreen, and staying hydrated.

"We've thought very carefully about fire risks and increased provisions," Handy said.

"Our top priority is to make sure the people of Boomtown are safe."

There has also been a ban on camping stoves and barbecues.

In the past seven years the festival's organisers said it had reduced its carbon footprint by 98%.

It also features initiatives like The Reparium - bringing once loved items and repairing them - like trolleys or instruments.

And Energy Green has set up a tent to teach people how to solder their own solar panels from scratch.

"Hopefully people can charge their phones with them," Callum Clancy who is part of the project said.