Foot power

UW researchers develop floor panels that can generate electricity

Associate Professor Xudong Wang holds a prototype of the researchers’ energy harvesting technology, which uses wood pulp and harnesses nano fibers. The technology could be incorporated into flooring and convert footsteps on the flooring into usable electricity. Stephanie Precourt

While solar and wind power continue to make clean-energy inroads into fueling our electric grid, both rely on favorable weather conditions to make their contribution. Now, a UW research team is developing an electricity-generating technology that could work rain or shine, breezy or calm. The simple act of people walking across floors embedded with treated wood fiber may one day make it possible for pedestrians to light their own walkway.