Pavegen is coming. The new technology, recently installed at a soccer field in a Brazilian slum, has the potential to revolutionize the soccer industry. And the Energy Industry.
Unveiled in the presence of Pele, Pavegen enables soccer fields generate electricity through player movement. Two hundred Pavegen tiles underneath the playing surface capture the kinetic energy supplied by the players’ footsteps. Then Pavegen converts the kinetic energy to electricity.
During the daytime, a solar panel installed on a nearby samba school also generates energy. Brazilian officials have expressed confidence in the Pavegen field making a positive difference in their community.
Despite the optimism, the idea still might not work. The soccer field charges people a fee to play on it, and the field is located in an extremely poor part of Rio de Janiero. Players pay about $20 per hour on weekdays and about $30 per hour on weekends. Pavegen’s co-founder said the company is working on ways to lessen the technology’s cost.
So there are bugs, but if the bugs can get figured out, this could be amazing. Pavegen’s website states that the goal is for this technology to eventually be able to power cities.
Soccer fields are a good start though.
