can concrete supply power like batteries? MIT scientists prove so

"Scientists at MIT develop Electron-Conducting Carbon Concrete, a kind of cement that can store and release electricity like batteries. Aimed for buildings, sidewalks, and other infrastructure, the energy-releasing material is made from four main ingredients: cement, water, ultra-fine carbon black, and electrolytes. The main stars are the carbon black and the electrolytes. For the former, its very small particles can form a conductive nanonetwork inside the concrete, allowing electricity to move through the material."

"When these are mixed with cement and water, they create a type of concrete that can hold and give back electrical energy, like a supercapacitor or large batteries. While the project cannot store as much energy as normal batteries, it has one major benefit: it can be built directly into structures, meaning it can be used or infused in walls, floors, pavements, and bridges so they can store and supply power directly to the electric lines."

"To produce the concrete battery, the MIT scientists have studied how carbon black and electrolytes interact inside the concrete. They use a method called FIB-SEM tomography, which combines focused ion beams and scanning electron microscopes, to remove and scan thin layers of the concrete and build a 3D image of the nanonetwork. The images show that the carbon particles form a web-like structure that surrounds small holes inside the concrete, helping the electrolyte spread through the material and making it easier for current to flow."

MIT researchers developed Electron-Conducting Carbon Concrete that stores and releases electrical energy using cement, water, ultrafine carbon black, and electrolytes. Ultrafine carbon black forms a conductive nanonetwork throughout the concrete, enabling electron transport. Electrolytes carry charge and, when integrated with cement and water, allow the composite to act like a supercapacitor or large battery. FIB-SEM tomography revealed a web-like carbon structure surrounding small pores that helps electrolyte penetration and current flow. Ammonium salts increased daily power output in tests. Energy density remains below conventional batteries, but the material enables built-in storage in buildings, pavements, and roads to power infrastructure or charge vehicles.

Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine