Amazing stuff! However, is it realistic and makes sense or is it just an ivory tower project!
Concrete, first applied some 6500 BCE, has come a long way since! 😊
Unfortunately, the significance section of this paper is loaded with ideological terminology like "clean energy" and "decarbonizing"! Regrettable!
"Scientists have been working for the last few years on enhancing concrete – arguably the most common construction material on the planet – to store energy. That includes researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who found a way to combine cement, water, and carbon black to create a 'supercapacitor' for this purpose back in 2023. ..."
"Concrete already builds our world, and now it’s one step closer to powering it, too. Made by combining cement, water, ultra-fine carbon black (with nanoscale particles), and electrolytes, electron-conducting carbon concrete (ec3, pronounced “e-c-cubed”) creates a conductive “nanonetwork” inside concrete that could enable everyday structures like walls, sidewalks, and bridges to store and release electrical energy. In other words, the concrete around us could one day double as giant “batteries.” ..."
From the significance and abstract:
"Significance
As the world transitions from fossil fuels to a renewable energy-based economy, scalable, safe, and sustainable energy storage becomes essential to balance intermittent supply and demand. To address these needs, electron-conducting carbon concrete (ecˆ3) has emerged as a promising multifunctional material that unites structural performance with electrochemical energy storage, but its application has remained limited by low voltage and scalability challenges. Through nanoscale 3D imaging, electrolyte optimization, and multicell stacking, we demonstrate the production of high-voltage, energy-storing concrete components capable of powering devices and supporting mechanical loads. Our approach bridges architecture and energy systems, advancing ecˆ3 as a transformative material system for decarbonizing construction and enabling resilient infrastructure in the era of clean energy.
Abstract
Electron-conducting carbon concrete (ecˆ3) is a multifunctional cement-based composite material that combines mechanical robustness with electrochemical energy storage. To further expand our understanding of structure–function relationships in this complex multiphase material system and provide a roadmap for transitioning this technology from a simple proof-of-concept to a viable large-scale energy storage alternative, we report insights into the nanoscale connectivity of the electrode’s conductive carbon network, explore different electrolyte compositions and material integration strategies, and highlight opportunities for device scaling.
Through the use of FIB-SEM tomography, the electrode’s percolating fractal-like nano-carbon black network has been visualized at the nanoscale, providing insights into the theoretical energy storage capacity of this material. To reduce the required times for the production of functional electrodes, we also present a cast-in electrolyte approach, where centimeter-thick electrodes could be produced without the need for postcuring steps. In these prototypes, device performance scales linearly with electrode thickness and cell count, and a simple analytical model was developed to explain these scaling phenomena.
Furthermore, the exploration of alternative ionic and organic electrolytes further contribute to improved electrochemical behavior, with the fabricated designs ultimately achieving a 10-fold increase in supercapacitor energy density compared to previous designs.
Finally, we were able to fabricate a 12 V, 50 F supercapacitor module and a 9 V arch prototype that integrate energy storage into load-bearing architectural elements.
These functional prototypes highlight the potential for real-time structural health monitoring, while demonstrating the potential of our ecˆ3 technology for the production of a scalable, high-voltage concrete energy-storing infrastructure."
Concrete “battery” developed at MIT now packs 10 times the power "Improved carbon-cement supercapacitors could turn the concrete around us into massive energy storage systems."
High energy density carbon–cement supercapacitors for architectural energy storage (no public access)
An ec3 supercapacitor prototype, made by stacking ec3 electrodes sandwiched by porous separators soaked in electrolyte, seen powering a computer fan and a game console
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