MIT have developed a conductive concrete that can store 10 times more energy

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) have developed a type of conductive concrete, called EC³, with the ability to function as a battery with an energy storage capacity ten times greater than that achieved in previous versions.

The creation of conductive concrete

The discovery was published in PNAS, and opens up the possibility that walls, sidewalks and bridges could function as gigantic storage systems capable of storing renewable energy and releasing it on demand.

This material is made of cement, water, ultrafine carbon black and electrolytes. This integration generates a fractal “nano-network” that allows electrons to be conducted and energy to be stored inside it. After optimizing electrolytes and manufacturing processes, the researchers reduced the volume needed to power a home: what in 2023 required 45 m³ of concrete, today needs only 5 m³, equivalent to the wall of a basement.

We want concrete, already the most widely used material in the world, to be multifunctional as well: it can store energy, self-repair and even capture carbon.

Admir Masic, lead author of the study and co-director of the EC³ Hub at MIT.

With the new electrolytes, especially ammonium salts combined with acetonitrile, one cubic meter of EC³ can store more than 2 kWh of energy, enough to keep a refrigerator running for a day.

The researchers have tested its use in Japan, where it was used to heat sidewalk slabs in Sapporo, avoiding the use of salt in winter. In the future, they envisage roads capable of charging electric vehicles, self-sufficient parking spaces and off-grid housing.

Source and photo: MIT