Turning Footsteps into Energy for the Metro: The Tiles of the Future

Reporter: Enrique Soto | Photographer: Enrique Lair

ESIME Azcapotzalco students design a system that generates clean energy for lighting

Five Mechanical Engineering students from the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) developed the project “Kinetic Tiles: Generating Energy with Every Step”, which aims to harness the footsteps of Mexico City Metro users and pedestrians in the Historic Center to produce clean electrical energy for lighting systems.

The team—Víctor Daniel Toriz González, Leonel Eduardo Agustín García, Enrique Ortega Ambrosio, Urick Benito Julio Villalba, and Edgar López Páez—are all students at the Escuela Superior de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica (ESIME), Azcapotzalco Unit.

Their innovation earned them first place in the “Ideathon” category at the 4th Innovaxión Fair 2025, organized by the IPN to showcase high-impact projects with potential to address real challenges faced by Mexican families.

Víctor Daniel Toriz explained that the tiles generate electricity through the piezoelectric effect, a process that transforms mechanical pressure into electrical signals.

“Each step produces about five volts, which are stored in lithium-ion batteries and used for lighting systems. The goal is to help reduce Mexico City’s carbon footprint while making pedestrians active participants in clean energy generation,” he said.

He added that this is the first project of its kind in Latin America. “We found similar initiatives in London and Japan, but none in this region,” he noted.

Fact: Each footstep generates five volts—enough for a large-scale installation to produce 7.5 megawatt-hours (MWh), which could cover 37% of the electricity consumption of Pantitlán Metro Station.

Leonel Eduardo Agustín explained that the tiles could be made from high-resistance acrylic, tempered glass, or laminated glass—materials strong enough to withstand heavy loads, water, and heat exposure while ensuring pedestrian safety.

“Each tile operates with springs and a device that produces the piezoelectric effect. Our goal is to manufacture these components ourselves to reduce costs. The estimated production cost per tile is between 340 and 480 pesos,” he said.

Enrique Ortega Ambrosio pointed out that the project is designed for installation in Pantitlán Station and along streets in Mexico City’s Historic Center, where pedestrian density is high.

“With a large-scale installation, we could generate up to 7.5 MWh—enough to power 37% of Pantitlán Station’s energy consumption,” he emphasized.

Currently, the project is in the design phase, using specialized software. The students plan to continue refining it as they progress in their Mechanical Engineering studies and later establish a startup to present their prototype to the Mexico City authorities.

Their physics professor, Hassivi Yael Rayón Trejo, helped them calculate the amount of energy each person could generate when walking on the tiles. “Each tile includes four piezoelectric generators and four springs to ensure stability,” explained Enrique Ortega.

Meanwhile, Urick Benito, Julio Villalba, and Edgar López Páez developed a business model to project production costs, pricing strategies, and profitability scenarios.

The young Politécnicos agree that the IPN has equipped them with the technical knowledge and vision needed to create sustainable innovations that could soon transform Mexico City—and other regions across the country—into places where every step helps generate clean, renewable energy.