How Japan is Turning Footsteps into Electricity
Sophia Wang '28
Piezoelectric technology is a new clean energy source that harnesses mechanical movement and converts it into electricity. Behind this process are minerals, which, on the atomic level, consist of unit cells—the smallest repeating atomic formation in a mineral (Unit Cells, n.d.). One defining quality of piezoelectric minerals is their lack of centrosymmetry; in other words, their unit cells are asymmetrical (Piezoelectric and Ferroelectric Materials Research | Materials Science | NLR, n.d.). Thus, applying pressure to piezoelectric minerals causes the electric charges within the atoms to shift, producing an electric charge between the positively and negatively charged atoms (How Does Piezoelectricity Work - Applications and Elements, 2025). This sustainable form of electricity can then be captured and used to power various utilities.
Piezoelectric technology, in fact, resulted from a recent movement to find alternative methods to generate energy, as traditional energy methods such as the burning of fossil fuels pollutes the environment and escalates climate change. Climate change has extreme and far-reaching negative impacts, displacing millions of people, increasing natural disasters, and inducing species extinction. Implementing piezoelectric technology, therefore, lowers the demand for fossil-fuel-derived electricity, lessening the rate of global warming.
A common utilization of piezoelectric materials is in walking tiles; the downward pressure of a person’s steps acts as the mechanical force that instigates an electrical charge. First introduced in 2009, the company Pavegen, a pioneer in this technology, created “Pavegen” slabs that do exactly that (About Pavegen | How It All Started, n.d.). These slabs were implemented on major walkways in the 2012 London Olympic Games and on the race track in the 2013 Paris marathon, converting the steps of thousands of people into efficient and usable energy (Balch, 2012; Khadilkar, 2024). Additionally, the tiles, placed under a soccer turf in Rio De Janeiro, powered the nighttime lighting at the field (BBC News, 2014). Furthermore, piezoelectric mats were implemented in Shibuya Station in Tokyo, Japan, a space bustling with the foot traffic of 3.8 million daily passengers (Ansari, 2025). At the station, 90-square-centimeter mats power LED signs and lights (Ansari, 2025).
Piezoelectric technology’s immense potential, however, does come with its limitations. For instance, the energy output of each step is relatively small; in turn, the extremely short, high-voltage pulses created are only sufficient for powering low-power sensors and LEDs (Ansari, 2025). Moreover, the energy output of piezoelectric tiles is directly correlated to the amount of foot traffic they get, so energy levels fluctuate highly during the time of the day and during different seasons. Periods of low foot traffic lead to a lower energy output during those times, making the tiles a less reliable form of energy production. Finally, despite the 10-20 year lifespan of these tiles, the installation and maintenance costs are high, keeping them out of the budget range for many businesses and governments (Ansari, 2025).
All in all, piezoelectric floor tiles are a promising technology that can make efficient use of walkways to generate electricity. However, without further innovations and technological developments, implementing the tiles on a large scale may not be plausible. Reducing the costs and increasing the efficiency of this technology, therefore, prove crucial in order for it to be widely implemented.
References
About Pavegen | How it all started. (n.d.). https://www.pavegen.com/about Ansari, F. (2025, September 14). How Japan Is Turning Footsteps Into Electricity with Piezoelectric Technology. PA | Architecture & Technology.
https://parametric-architecture.com/japan-turning-footsteps-electricity/?srsltid=AfmBOoq oTxp0y-C4Qzhl_9iag0UCG51ZxijDvIscPpZfFFolimWILee6
Balch, O. (2012, August 16). Power generating tiles pave the way to renewable energy breakthrough. The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/power-generating-tiles-renewable-ene rgy
BBC News. (2014, September 11). The first player-powered football pitch opens in Brazil. https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-29156221
How does piezoelectricity work - applications and elements. (2026, January 20). Americanpiezo. https://www.americanpiezo.com/knowledge-center/piezo-theory/piezoelectricity/ Khadilkar, D. (2024, February 20). Energy-Harvesting Street Tiles Generate Power from Pavement Pounder. Scientific American.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pavement-pounders-at-paris-marathon-genera te-power/
Piezoelectric and Ferroelectric Materials Research | Materials Science | NLR. (n.d.). https://www.nrel.gov/materials-science/piezoelectric-ferroelectric-materials Unit cells. (n.d.). https://chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/topicreview/bp/ch13/unitcell.php