The Dutch-based company, Energy Floors, has developed a floor tile that can generate electricity when you walk over it. The technology is fairly simple in that the tile surface flexes slightly as weight it applied to it. This in turn drives a generator and produces electricity.
The first application of the technology was for, what the company calls, the Sustainable Dance Floor (SDF). The SDF can be laid in a dance club, then as clubbers dance the night away on the floor, it will light up to their movements. A number of clubs exist today featuring the SDF concept.
The company is now taking the concept further with the development of the Sustainable Energy Floor (SEF). The SEF tiles can be laid in almost any location and instead of producing light, they produce electricity that can be fed back into the national grid.
Energy Floors has recently signed a contract with the Russian state railway to supply SEF floor tiles to be laid in the busiest stations in Russia.
The Russians are hoping to generate enough electricity from the thousands of daily foot falls to ease their energy crunch and create a more sustainable future.
