Solar-powered pavement generates energy from footsteps

A 20-to-30 square metre surface can provide enough energy for a family home in Hungary for one year

Spotted: A Hungarian company called Platio have put a spin on solar panels with their solar pavement tiles, which are made out of plastic waste. The solar-powered pavement generates energy when people walk over them, and the more they are walked on, the more energy is generated. One solar panel unit provides about 20 watts of energy, and a 20-to-30 square metre surface can provide enough energy for a family home in Hungary for one year.

Platio’s solar panels are not intended to be a replacement to traditional solar panels on roofs, but as a complementary effort they will make use of clean energy where other energy resources are not available, or when installing solar panels on a roof is not possible. An example of this would be the southern states in America, which often face tornado threats, making it difficult to install rooftop solar panels.

On top of increasing green energy production, the tiles are also made from plastic waste. Using a compression method, Platio uses non-recyclable plastics to build the paving blocks that the solar panels sit on. An equivalent of 400 plastic bottles are used to make one square metre of pavement. With their tempered glass surfaces, they are completely safe for humans to walk on, and can even take the weight of a heavy truck.

After a few years of development, the solar panels are now available in 36 countries. They are not suitable for roads, but are perfect for public parks, rooftop gardens, or electric car charging stations.

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