Pavegen has installed 11 tiles in the heart of the Crystal in Royal Victoria Dock, powering a LED bar that activates coloured lighting in response to visitors’ footsteps.
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Footfall in the Crystal building – one of the world’s most sustainable events venues – can also be used to track real-time data, calculating daily footfall levels as well as footsteps per tile.
The installation, in collaboration with global technology company Siemens, allows Pavegen to demonstrate the potential of footfall energy in a public space, uniting communities through positive energy generation.
Pavegen, founded by P.E.A. Award-winning Laurence Kemball-Cook, is a clean-technology company that generates electricity from footsteps.
The innovative tiles convert the weight of a step into a continuous power source, using the electricity to power lighting, advertising and signs.
‘With Siemens, we know we can prove that sustainability in the urban space is viable. It’s a huge step towards Pavegen’s final goals in becoming a commercially viable energy solution.’
Laurence Kemball-Cook, Pavegen CEO and founder
Pavegen’s previous partnership with Siemens entailed installing tiles in the heart of Federation Square, Melbourne, Australia. This was one of Pavegen‟s first installations in the Asia Pacific region – a key market for sustainability and clean-technology innovations.
The tiles powered lighting in the area, raising awareness to the power of a footstep in smart cities. Since opening in 2002, Federation Square has seen over 100 million visits, and the aim is for it to become carbon neutral. This would help to establish Melbourne’s vision of becoming a sustainable smart city of the future.
Situated at Royal Victoria Dock, East London, the Crystal is the first building to achieve the highest sustainable building accolade from both BREEAM (outstanding) and LEED (platinum).
In a bid to make sustainability engaging and appealing, Pavegen will take centre stage at the establishment’s permanent exhibition on sustainable development.
The Crystal exhibition recently welcomed its 250,000th visitor since opening in September 2012. It’s now looking to the future with over 15 new exhibits added in the last year.
‘As the world’s largest exhibition focused on sustainable cities, we are constantly looking for exciting new technologies which can play an important role in the future of our cities. The Pavegen tiles form part of our new Kinetic Energy zone which will provide an informative and fun experience for all visitors to the Crystal exhibition.’
Josh Palmer, operations manager, the Crystal
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