Oil giant Shell has built Africa's first human-powered football pitch as part of a programme to inspire entrepreneurs to come up with innovative energy solutions.
Located at the Federal College of Education (FCE) in Lagos, Nigeria, the pitch has been fitted with more than 90 underground tiles that capture kinetic energy created by the movement of players.
The kinetic energy is then stored - and combined with power generated by solar panels - to operate the pitch's six floodlights.
Following the installation FCE students have been able to play at night, increasing the usage of the pitch while providing a safer and more secure space at the heart of the community.
The tiles are the invention of British entrepreneur Laurence Kemball-Cook, founder of Pavegen, who has been supported through the Shell LiveWIRE initiative.
Music superstar and solar entrepreneur Akon joined Shell and FCE staff for a high-profile launch of the pitch. The Singer has previously publicly announced his personal commitment to teaching young Africans the importance of harnessing the power of Africa's renewable energy. Akon is spearheading, through Akon Lighting Africa, a large scale effort to develop solar-powered solutions that will provide African communities with access to clean and affordable sources of electricity.
He said: "New, reliable and smarter energy solutions play a major role in driving human progress in Africa. Projects like this innovative football pitch draw attention to the major opportunity that Nigeria as well as the whole of Africa have if we look to better harness new technologies and the continent's abundant renewable energy resources."
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