Something for nothing always appeals. Why pay a fortune to power a motorway when it could just as easily power itself? If our roads were paved with the right stuff, we could store the electrical charges that accumulate under the ground and use that to illuminate our roads.
Piezoelectricity is electricity that’s generated from pressure, and it’s used in a wide range of applications today, from cigarette lighters to inkjet printers. The only question is, can it scale? It’s one thing to generate low-level lighting by dancing on a disco floor – as seen in ‘eco-discos’ in London and Rotterdam – but could piezoelectric pads set under tarmac power the lights and signage along our major roads?
Piezoelectricity is a rapidly expanding industry, and London-based Pavegen Systems is one of the companies spearheading its development. Launched by industrial designer Laurence Kemball-Cook, it designs ‘smart’ pavement tiles that act as an off-grid power source. They were trialled at West Ham station during the London 2012 Olympics, lined the approach to the finishing line of the 2013 Paris Marathon and floor the corridors of schools in Kent and Gloucester. More recently, in 2017, California’s Energy Commission awarded grants to two organisations to demonstate the technology in San Jose.