Recent discoveries made by researchers at a university in Massachusetts have led to the development of new concrete that has the potential to turn homes into enormous batteries. Aside from the fact that it can store energy, this technological improvement can be constructed inside of your home at no additional expense.
(Photo : Pexels/Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz )
How Did The Researchers Discover the New Concrete?
Carbon black, a highly conductive chemical, was added to a mixture of water and cement by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This resulted in the creation of a construction material that may also function as a supercapacitor under certain conditions.
Although they are capable of charging and discharging with remarkable efficiency, supercapacitors are often not able to store energy for extended periods. They are a handy means of storing extra electricity generated from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. However, they do not possess the functionality of conventional lithium-ion batteries, which are utilized in applications ranging from mobile phones to electric vehicles.
There have been a number of recent advancements in the field of renewable energy, and the new material is one of them. These developments have the potential to revolutionize the way in which we create and store electricity in our homes. In the long run, the researchers believe that the material may be included in the concrete foundations of a house without causing any additional building costs to be incurred. Additionally, the material might be used to make concrete roadways that are capable of wirelessly recharging electric vehicles while they are in motion.
Moreover, carbon black, which is both extremely conductive and water-repellent, made the material's extraordinary properties. This indicates that the carbon black effectively reorganizes itself into a branching web of wires snaking through the cement when the mixture hardens.
As a result of its composition, the researchers assert that it is not only a significant potential step in the worldwide shift towards clean energy, but it also possesses inherent advantages over more conventional batteries. Although cement has a high carbon cost, the new material is made up of only three components, all of which are inexpensive and abundant. Regardless of the carbon cost of cement, the new material is constructed from only three components, all of which are inexpensive and abundant. These components include lithium, which is the primary component of conventional batteries.
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Renewable Energy Features of the New Concrete
Even if there have been some recent discoveries of lithium reserves, the hunt for alternative battery materials has been spurred by the limited supply of this material, the excessive reliance on a small number of mines located all over the world, and the fact that it influences the environment.
As mentioned, in comparison to traditional batteries, the power production may appear to be relatively modest; but, according to the findings of a researcher named Damian Stefaniuk, a foundation consisting of thirty to forty cubic meters (1,060-1,410 cubic feet) of concrete would be adequate to fulfill the daily energy requirements of a homeowner. Because concrete is used so extensively all over the world, this material has the potential to be extremely competitive and effective in the field of energy storage.
Because of their ability to rapidly build enormous amounts of charge, supercapacitors have the potential to be useful for storing extra energy that is generated by intermittent renewable sources, such as the wind and the sun. It would reportedly alleviate the grid's burden during periods when the sun is not beaming or the wind is not blowing.
Nevertheless, in the meantime, lithium is a limited resource that is CO2-intensive, especially in hard rock mining. According to the Climate Portal at MIT, for every tonne of lithium that is extracted, 15 tonnes of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere.
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