Energy firm sparks flood of new investors

PAVEGEN, the British technology company that turns footsteps into energy, secured almost half of its £750 000 (R13.9-million) crowdfunding round yesterday within 12 hours of launching its campaign on the Crowdcube investment platform.

The kinetic energy pioneer has raised £334 000 (R6.2-million) from 138 investors with 40 days still to go. It is offering an equity stake of just under 5% to “the crowd”.

Founded in 2009, Pavegen has developed a patented flooring product that can be used indoors or outdoors in high traffic areas, and generates electricity from pedestrian footsteps using an electromagnetic induction process.

The company has now completed its 130th installation.

It exports its energy-converting tiles to 30 countries across the world. Customers range from infrastructure giants, like Siemens, to retail brands Nike and Uniqlo.

Pavegen is also about to install its products outside the White House in Washington DC.

Founder Laurence Kemball-Cook said interest in the campaign was driven by the company’s latest installation in the City of London, which proved a hit with bankers.

Pavegen’s technology was implemented by property giant Canary Wharf Group on Monday to power streetlights in the area.

“Testing the market there has been interesting,” Kemball-Cook said. “People are requesting a business plan every five minutes.”

People working at nearby JP Morgan, HSBC and at the headquarters of Barclays had invested in the crowdfunding round, he said.

The fresh cash will be invested into bringing down the cost of Pavegen’s tiles. – The Telegraph