The race to slow down the negative effects of fossil fuels on our planet has certainly brought about many brilliant ideas that are slowly finding their way into mainstream consciousness. One example of such a bright concept that is actually so simple it’s puzzling why it hasn’t been implemented decades ago is the invention of 25 year old engineer Laurence Cook.
He calls his invention Pavegen and what it is, basically, is a slab of rubber flooring material built with the capability of generating electricity when stepped on. The electricity generated can be stored in battery systems built into the slabs themselves! The mechanism on how it does this isn’t disclosed on their website (http://www.pavegen.com) but with so many places on the planet teeming with foot traffic, this certainly can be a potential winner in the field of renewable power generation. The technology, however, is still somewhat new and getting to mass market is probably still some ways off but the company is very optimistic and are slowly making its way towards that direction.
As a matter of fact, they have implemented their Pavegen slabs in some parts of London and have been testing their performance reliability and durability in those installations. They expect to have the Pavegen system installed at the 2012 London Olympic site in Westfield Stratford City which should help boost their popularity and, hopefully, demand even more.
One of the beauty of this invention is that it is entirely feasible that in a future time, off-grid electrical appliances like street lights won’t have to rely on traditional energy sources which we pay not only with our tax money but also cost us dearly in terms of environmental impact. Imagine a busy business district that generates electricity for its own street lighting system using sidewalk foot traffic which most such places have in abundance. It also has huge potential in advertising and other novel applications such as their portable power generating dance floor system which is featured in the video below.
While this idea has been around for some time now (some people report that they’ve seen this concept presented in many a trade or technology exhibits), none has really shown some significant potential commercially. I’m hoping Pavegen changes that and that this type of renewable power source becomes as ubiquitous as the TV!
Want Pavegen implemented or tested in your area? Go to www.pavegen.com and talk to them right now!