Super new materials? MIT researchers want to store mountains of energy in cement

in Article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Show teams how a “supercapacitor” can store mountains of energy from readily available materials.

Energy storage in cement

Supercapacitors are like batteries, but they charge very quickly. On the other hand, they can dissipate less power at a given volume.

They work like rechargeable batteries, but store and release energy much faster – in an electric field between two electrodes close together.

The amount of energy a capacitor can dissipate depends on the surface area of ​​the two conducting plates between which the current is stored. The larger the panels, the higher the power.

The research team found a way to extend this concept. This supercapacitor is made of cement based material with carbon black with very large inner surface.

Carbon black, also known as carbon black, is similar to fine charcoal and is produced by combustion with little oxygen, or an incomplete combustion process – and the material is electrically conductive.

By adding soot to the cement mixture and allowing it to harden, you get a web of conductive material of a certain size – like between the plates of an ordinary supercapacitor.

When the cement reacts with water, it creates a branched network of holes, where carbon is introduced and then forms complex thread-like structures. This results in a large area within a small volume.

In other words, it creates more space to store energy than a normal supercapacitor – without the need for more space.

A full day’s strength

To transfer the charged particles into the material, the new supercapacitor was soaked for several weeks in a standard salted potassium chloride electrolyte, which was sequestered in the carbon structures.

When the material is connected to an energy source, such as solar panels or wind power, it stores energy and releases it when the energy is needed—and because the energy is stored, the energy source is stable.

Because researchers have now made a supercapacitor that is more than 1 centimeter in diameter and 1 millimeter thick, and can be charged with a voltage of 1 volt. In an experiment, the researchers lit a 3-volt LED with three such capacitors.

The team calculated that a concrete block is 45 meters long³ It has enough capacity to store at least 10 kilowatt-hours of energy, which is equivalent to the average daily household electricity consumption.

According to the team, the materials can be scaled up and incorporated into buildings that can store energy in concrete and cement with the addition of this supercapacitor. Concrete itself can also act as a heater.

The material can also be used for concrete roads, which can charge electric cars while driving.