Now Footsteps Can Power A Car…and Create Community!

What? It’s true! Pavegen has invented ” smart” paving steps that create energy when you step on them. I heard about this idea in London and the more I  researched what this company is doing the more I liked it. See what you think…..

Pavegen is a company created in 2009 by Laurence Kemball Cook an industrial designer and CEO of the company. He created pavers that flex about 5mm as you walk on them and collect the energy from a footstep. Each footstep on a Pavegen walkway creates 5 watts of power which can be stored off- grid and can be used to generate lighting, collect data, and power a car to travel short distances.

In London energy from more than 150,000 steps will have been captured by 117 tiles installed in Broadgate. The pavers or slabs absorb energy from footsteps and store it in a lithium polymer battery. Energy stored from 150,000 steps is enough to power a car for more than a kilometer…….In Australia this might take you to the front gate of your house but in Europe you might make it to the supermarket!

What Inspires me about this technology is clearly the potential to develop this as a new clean energy source. But I also see great potential in bringing communities, sports clubs and people together. Health benefits from walking are established and this takes tracking footsteps away from the individual into a community setting. Communities working together to crowd – fund sustainable energy projects for their community is a powerful development strategy.

Think of the high footfall areas in your town or city…railway stations, sporting venues, schools are all great sources of footfall energy….What do you think? We’d love to hear from you……

 

13 June 2019 | Living Well

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