THE BUILDING IS THE BATTERY

Concrete is one of the world’s workhorse building materials and also among the most energy-intensive to create.
Now researchers at Sweden’s Chalmers Institute of Technology have found a way that concrete can give back some of that fuel.
Into a slab of standard concrete, the scientists mixed short carbon fibers that can conduct electricity. The slab was sandwiched between two sheets of carbon mesh, one coated with iron and the other with nickel, to serve as the battery’s terminals.
The resulting material showed an energy density of 7 watt-hours per cubic meter, better than past attempts at concrete batteries but still well below the energy density of conventional batteries.
The low energy density can be partially offset by the scale of structures that can be made from the concrete, including major portions of skyscrapers.
The scientists envision a range of uses for their material, including powering sensors embedded in dams, bridges, and other edifices to signal damage or weakness.
Concrete structures typically last for decades; batteries don’t. The research team is trying to figure out how to recharge their concrete batteries in place or design a way of swapping them out.
TRENDPOST: Novel battery chemistries tend to grab the headlines but development of new battery shapes – from car bodies to the A-frames that hold a soldier’s backpack —  now underway will be just as important in creating the future’s portable power sources. Look for structural batteries to appear in electronic devices before 2030.