Used BMW i3 Batteries, Power Bikes and Kinetic Floor Make Coldplay’s Tour the Greenest Yet

In June this year, “Higher Power,” the lead single from Coldplay’s album “Music of the Spheres,” became the soundtrack for the ads for the BMW iX and the i4. However, the partnership is more than just a mere association of names: BMW is now saying that used i3 batteries will be used to store energy for the Music Of The Spheres World Tour, which kicks off in the summer of 2022.

That in itself doesn’t sound like too big a deal, but the carmaker notes that not only is this the first time BMW batteries are made suitable for second-life applications but also a first in terms of a worldwide music tour using sustainable energy throughout. Basically, venues will be powered not by the usual diesel generators, but a show battery made of BMW batteries, storing energy from a variety of sources, like solar panels, power bikes inside the venue itself, a kinetic floor, and recycled cooking oil from local restaurants.

This is an excellent way of involving the fans and using their enthusiasm in aid of an excellent cause, of course. Fans will be able to pedal on the power bikes as the band performs; their jumping up and down will also be turned into energy and then stored into the BMW batteries. As lead singer Chris Martin jokes in a chat with the BBC, when he tells the fans that he “needs” them to jump up and down, he will really, truly need them, as the lights could go out in the venue.

In 2019, Martin told the same media outlet that the band was going on a hiatus from touring until they found a way to do so in a more sustainable way. They can do so now, thanks to the partnership with BMW, and they hope that other performers will be paying attention and maybe take cues. It’s true, they will still be flying by private jets, but since touring is something they really want to do, it’s the best compromise possible.