Walking the Future: How Sidewalks Can Generate Electricity

Sidewalks Generate Electricity from Your Steps in Japan
New technology in Japan is designed to transform crowd movement into electricity.
The basis? Piezoelectric sidewalks will turn steps into energy.
While most of the world struggles with traffic and congestion in large cities, Japan continues to make headlines with innovative technological solutions.

In a country where Shinkansen trains race at speeds of about 320 km/h, the latest development is piezoelectric sidewalks that generate electricity from pedestrian movement.
This technology will harnesses urban crowds in cities like Tokyo and turns it into a new energy resource.
The massive congestion at busy train stations such as Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, where approximately 3.8 million passengers pass daily,
prompted the Japanese to think outside the box. Instead of seeing crowding as a burden, they turned it into a source of energy.

The piezoelectric technology, invented in the 19th century, is based on a phenomenon where certain materials like quartz, tourmaline and topaz generate electric voltage in response to mechanical pressure.
Pedestrian steps on the tiles apply mechanical pressure, which converts into electrical energy that is stored for later use.
In fact, this is one of the most interesting applications of the technology, alongside others such as quartz watches, sonar systems, and even simple lighters.

The project began in 2008 at several experimental sites in Japan, where a single tile generated about 0.1 watts when a person weighing 60 kg stepped on it.
The figure may seem small, but when multiplied by millions of daily steps at busy stations like Shibuya, the potential becomes significant.
With technological advancement, new tiles are more efficient and can produce up to 30 watts per step. Despite its potential, the technology is still not widespread outside Japan.

One reason is that although the basic technology has existed for many years, large scale implementation remains expensive and does not always justify the investment.
Japanese development demonstrates how creative solutions can help with contemporary problems and turning what seems like science fiction into everyday reality.
Other applications of piezoelectric technology focus on different forms of kinetic energy.

Some companies have experimented with harnessing the pressure from vehicles on roads or railways to generate electricity.
Experiments have shown that a onekilometer section of road can generate significant amounts of electricity, enough to power streetlights or contribute to the electrical grid.
Smaller scale applications include developing piezoelectric materials for sensors in medical and industrial uses.