GCD shares promising initiatives dedicated to the Information Society. Some of them particularly inspire us. We call them “Coup de Coeur” (our favorite). Since dissemination and sharing of good practice are quintessential purpose of the network, new “Coup de Coeur” are posted regularly on the website. They come from members and from non-members. We hope you will find our “Coup de Coeur” as interesting and innovative as we do!

 

Smart pavement: generating electricity out of pedestrians' walking

 

The city of Toulouse (France), together with VIHA Concept, is developping a new source of energy for public lighting: human steps! Electro-active tiles integrated into the pavement generate power as people walk on them and light up LED street lamps. By walking normally on the 8-meter pavement, anyone can produces up to 60 Watts, which is enough to light up standard LED lights.This innovative project is named Trotelec.
 
Inspired by a dance club in the Netherlands whose dance floor is equipped with similar tiles producing energy, Toulouse's Vice-Mayor This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it suggested that kinetic energy should be produced by pedestrians walking down the streets, stored over day and used at night to light up Toulouse's streets, thus improving the city's energetic performance. The city does not only consume energy, it produces some as well!
 
The first experiments were highly successful: energy is produced in sufficient quantity and public acceptance is huge. Toulouse brightly proves that living in the city in a sustainable manner is possible. The team around Vice-Mayor Marciel showcased the first electro-active sidewalk in the world in different events, notably during the European Union sustainable energy week held in Brussels last April, and always raised the interest of the audience. Click on following link to the see a video on Trotelec.

 
This project matchs perfectly GCD's activities in sustainable development and the objectives of the working group "going ecolocal." For this reason, Trotelec is our new Coup de Coeur. One day, may be, this technology will be available in all GCD cities!