London , England ( CNN ) -- Paving slabs that convert energy from people 's footsteps into electricity are set to help power Europe 's largest urban mall , at the 2012 London Olympics site . The recycled rubber `` PaveGen '' paving slabs harvest kinetic energy from the impact of people stepping on them and instantly deliver tiny bursts of electricity to nearby appliances . The slabs can also store energy for up to three days in an on-board battery , according to its creator . In their first commercial application , 20 tiles will be scattered along the central crossing between London 's Olympic stadium and the recently opened Westfield Stratford City mall -- which expects an estimated 30 million customers in its first year . `` That should be enough feet to power about half its ( the mall 's ) outdoor lighting needs , '' said Laurence Kemball-Cook , a 25-year-old engineering graduate who developed the prototype during his final year of university in 2009 . The green slabs are designed to compress five millimeters when someone steps on them , but PaveGen will not share the precise mechanism responsible for converting absorbed kinetic energy into electricity . Although each step produces only enough electricity to keep an LED-powered street lamp lit for 30 seconds , Kemball-Cook says that the tiles are a real-world `` crowdsourcing '' application , harnessing small contributions from a large number of individuals . `` We recently came back from a big outdoor festival where we got over 250,000 footsteps -- that was enough to charge 10,000 mobile phones , '' said Kemball-Cook . The young inventor envisages PaveGen systems being used to power off-grid appliances such as public lighting , illuminated street maps and advertising , and to be installed in areas of dense human traffic such as city centers , underground stations and school corridors . `` Our main test installation is at a school in Kent ( southeast England ) -- where 1,100 kids have devoted their lives to stamping all over them for the last eight months , '' said Kemball-Cook . In its current form , the PaveGen paving slab contains a low-energy LED which lights up , expressing the energy transfer idea to the user but only consuming around 5 % of the energy from each footstep . `` This is what I really enjoy about the design , '' said Richard Miller , head of sustainability at the UK 's government-funded Technology Strategy Board . `` As much as it 's an effective , common-sense source of some sustainable electricity , it 's also a great way for people to engage with the issue of sustainability ... to feel like they are part of the solution in a very immediate , fun and visual way that does n't make you do anything you would n't already be doing , '' said Miller . However , although generally enthusiastic about the product , for the time being Miller withholds speculation about its far-reaching impact . `` As with all things of this nature , on a large scale and in the long term , its success will be determined by how cost-effective it is to produce ... If it turns out to be expensive , then it will struggle to find a place as anything more than a niche application , '' he said . Kemball-Cook declines to comment on the cost of each slab , arguing that their current price is much higher than what it will be when they go into mass production . That said , the company has already won a spate of awards , including the Big Idea category at the UK 's Ethical Business Awards and the Shell LiveWire Grand Ideas Award . PaveGen has also recently received a round of financing from a group of London-based angel investors , although the sum is undisclosed . Kemball-Cook is confident that the slab is durable . Over the course of a month it was subjected to a machine that replicates the pounding of footsteps , non-stop every day , he added . `` It 's also really easy to install as a retrofit on existing pavements , because they can be made to match their exact dimensions ... you just replace one slab with another , '' he said . Looking to the future , Kemball-Cook would like to see the paving system introduced to the developing world , in areas that have a high footfall , but are off-grid , such as the slums in Mumbai . `` The average person takes 150 million steps in their lifetime , just imagine the potential , '' he said .
Engineer has developed paving slab that transforms energy from footsteps into electricity . First commercial order expected to power half of outdoor lighting at vast London shopping mall . Score: 6 Hopes one day to export across developing world to provide source of `` off-grid '' energy .