Pavegen

Pavegen Systems was founded in 2009 by Laurence Kemball-Cook. Cook, a graduate in Industrial Technology and Design from Loughborough University, took on a university placement with E.ON, and proposed using footfall as a potential power source.[2]

The development of the first prototype of the Pavegen flooring tile was funded by a Royal Society of Arts International Design Directions prize. The tile that converts kinetic energy from footsteps into electricity, while collecting data about walking traffic patterns.[3][4][5]

The first generation tile was made from recycled polymer, with the top surface made from recycled truck tires. Power is generated when a footfall compresses the slab by about 5 mm (0.2 in). The exact technology is a secret, but PaveGen officials have said it involves electromagnetic induction by copper coils and magnets.[6] Pavegen says each pedestrian generates an average of 5 watts per footstep at 12-48 volts DC,[7] enough to run an LED street lamp for 30 seconds.[1] The technology was developed by Pavegen founder Laurence Kemball-Cook.[8][9]

An improved tile was developed in 2016 which, according to the company, improved energy conversion by 'about 20 times'.[10] The amount of energy generated has been criticised, with one calculation claiming that walking for 4 hours on PaveGen paving would generate 0.02% of the average European's energy needs.[11] It has been suggested that the technology's strength rests in its ability to track volume and direction of traffic flow, thus providing useful metrics in a range of scenarios.[11]

Among other installations, the slabs have been laid at London's West Ham Underground station for the 2012 Olympic Games.[12] In April 2013, a demonstration installation with Schneider Electric harvested energy from the runners in the Paris Marathon.[13] PaveGen has also put these tiles on a public soccer field in Rio de Janeiro to allow play after sunset.[14]

A study of a central building at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, suggested that if pavers covered the 3.1% of the floor that sees the most foot traffic, it would generate an estimated 1.1 megawatt-hour per year, about 0.5% of the building's energy needs.[15]

In 2012, Pavegen raised £350,000 through London Business Angels, which helped the company create a tangible business. [16] In 2015, the company raised £1.9m through the Crowdcube platform, allowing them to gain 1500 investors and valued the company at about £17m. [17][18]

In 2015, Kemball-Cook acts as CEO of the company, For his invention, he was chosen as Businessman of the Year at the PEA Awards, [19] and presented with a Shell LiveWIREGrand Ideas Award.[20] He also was named as honorary Enterprise and Innovation Fellow by Loughborough University.[21]

Pavegen have distributors in Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Portugal, India and Japan.[22]

The Register points out that this device generates only "tiny, pointless amounts of energy". .[11] This borne out by an article published by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in which the output from 54,267 steps on a Pavegen system is shown to have generated 217,028 watt-seconds, a mere 0.06 kWh.

• Energy harvesting
• Renewable energy

• Official website
• Loughborough graduate competes for design award