Scientists achieve a major breakthrough in concrete battery technology.
The challenge of storing renewable energy at scale may have found an unlikely solution.
Scientists have developed a new type of concrete material that can function as a massive battery, turning buildings and roads into energy storage systems.
The team at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) first developed this next-generation energy storage system in 2023 and has now made it 10 times more powerful.
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This breakthrough means that the average home would need approximately five cubic metres of the material to meet all its energy needs, which is roughly the size of a single basement wall.
The concrete battery works by combining cement, water, carbon black and electrolytes. Together, these materials create a conductive 'nanonetwork' inside the concrete that can store and release electrical energy.
“A key to the sustainability of concrete is the development of ‘multifunctional concrete,’ which integrates functionalities like this energy storage, self-healing, and carbon sequestration,” said Admir Masic, co-director and associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at MIT. “Concrete is already the world’s most-used construction material, so why not take advantage of that scale to create other benefits?”
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Professor Masic and his team improved the energy density by reconstructing the conductive nanonetwork within the material.
They tested with different electrolytes, such as seawater, to find the optimal method for storing energy. The technology could expand today's renewable energy capabilities. Buildings equipped with solar panels and this revolutionary concrete could potentially operate entirely off the grid.
“The Ancient Romans made great advances in concrete construction. Massive structures like the Pantheon stand to this day without reinforcement,” Professor Masic added.
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“If we keep up their spirit of combining material science with architectural vision, we could be at the brink of a new architectural revolution with multifunctional concretes like ec3.”
The research team is now working toward practical applications, including roads and parking spaces that could charge electric vehicles while they're parked, as well as off-grid homes.
“What excites us most is that we’ve taken a material as ancient as concrete and shown that it can do something entirely new,” explained James Weaver, a co-author on the paper. “By combining modern nanoscience with an ancient building block of civilisation, we’re opening a door to infrastructure that doesn’t just support our lives, it powers them.”
The research was published in the scientific journal PNAS in a study titled: ‘High energy density carbon–cement supercapacitors for architectural energy storage’.