Power springs from your footsteps at AUH

Abu Dhabi Airports aims to strengthen its commitment to educating travellers about the different sources of off-grid energy and data.” Ahmed Al Shamisi, acting chief operations officer at Abu Dhabi Airports

abu dhabi — The Abu Dhabi International Airport has launched an interactive walkway that converts the footsteps of travellers into off-grid electricity and data.

Abu Dhabi Airports has commissioned Pavegen, an award-winning UK clean-tech company, in collaboration with Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company), to construct the 16-square-metre, energy-harvesting walkway. The path connects two terminals within the Capital’s airport, which handles two million passengers a month. It is the first installation of its kind in a commercial airport in the Middle East.

The footsteps of around 8,000 travellers per day are being captured and converted into electrical energy to track footfall data and power lighting along the walkway as they pass between Terminals 1 and 3 of the airport. The amount of energy being harvested is displayed on screens, while a special game interface for children shows aeroplanes rising and descending according to how much energy is being generated.

Ahmed Al Shamisi, acting chief operations officer at Abu Dhabi Airports, said: “We’ve partnered with Masdar to instal the Pavegen walkway, poised to power the data-driven, smart cities of tomorrow. Through this collaboration, Abu Dhabi Airports aims to strengthen its commitment to sustainable practices and educating travellers and residents about the different sources of off-grid energy and data.”

The articulated flooring surface is constructed from a series of interlocking triangles. As people walk across the patented system, electromagnetic generators produce off-grid energy. This electricity is being used to power local LED lighting and provide a data feed.

Laurence Kemball-Cook, founder and CEO of Pavegen, said: “With millions of visitors a day, airports are a key destination for our energy and data-generating technology. As the first major Pavegen permanent installation in the Middle East, this is a key milestone for us.”