POWERleap preps for kinetic energy product launch

Wednesday, January 19, 2011 | Source: Concentrate

The idea behind POWERleap's technology -- harnessing kinetic energy -- has been the talk of Ann Arbor since the company's inception in 2008. Now the start-up plans to make that idea a reality in 2011, conducting demonstration projects around the world and finishing off product development.

"We plan to be a net revenue-positive company and have a commercial product ready for the market in 2011," says Elizabeth Redmond, president of POWERleap.

The University of Michigan graduate is trying to commercialize technology that can capture kinetic electricity from something as simple as body movements. Think using a piece of floor tile to harness the electricity created from stepping on it and using it to power a house.

The Ann Arbor-based start-up now has a team of five people working toward perfecting this technology and is currently bootstrapping the start-up costs. Redmond hopes to add to that team later this year as it nears its product launch. POWERleap also recently made the semifinals of the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition.

"There is a pretty intricate network of business support in southeast Michigan that we are leveraging," Redmond says. "There is everything from manufacturing to funding expertise here."

Source: Elizabeth Redmond, president of POWERleap
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.