News Article

Electrifying: New cement makes concrete generate electricity

electric cement

SEOUL -

Engineers from South Korea have invented a cement-based composite that can be used in concrete to make structures that generate and store electricity through exposure to external mechanical energy sources like footsteps, wind, rain and waves.

By turning structures into power sources, the cement will crack the problem of the built environment consuming 40% of the world’s energy, they believe.

Building users need not worry about getting electrocuted. Tests showed that a 1% volume of conductive carbon fibres in a cement mixture was enough to give the cement the desired electrical properties without compromising structural performance, and the current generated was far lower than the maximum allowable level for the human body.

Researchers in mechanical and civil engineering from from Incheon National University, Kyung Hee University and Korea University developed a cement-based conductive composite (CBC) with carbon fibres that can also act as a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), a type of mechanical energy harvester.

They designed a lab-scale structure and a CBC-based capacitor using the developed material to test its energy harvesting and storage capabilities.

“We wanted to develop a structural energy material that could be used to build net-zero energy structures that use and produce their own electricity,” said Seung-Jung Lee, a professor in Incheon National University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

“Since cement is an indispensable construction material, we decided to use it with conductive fillers as the core conductive element for our CBC-TENG system,” he added.

The results of their research were published this month in the journal Nano Energy.

Apart from energy storage and harvesting, the material could also be used to design self-sensing systems that monitor the structural health and predict the remaining service life of concrete structures without any external power.

“Our ultimate goal was to develop materials that made the lives of people better and did not need any extra energy to save the planet. And we expect that the findings from this study can be used to expand the applicability of CBC as an all-in-one energy material for net-zero energy structures,” said Prof. Lee.

Publicising the research, Incheon National University quipped: “Seems like a jolting start to a brighter and greener tomorrow!”

Related News

Chris Ambler, JE's chief executive

Electricity prices may go up by 15 per cent

JERSEY CITY - Electricity prices could rise by ten to 15 per cent if a standby charge for some commercial customers is not implemented, the chief executive of Jersey Electricity has warned.

Jersey Electricity has proposed extending a monthly fee to commercial customers who generate their own power through renewable means but still wish to be connected to Jersey’s grid as a back-up.

The States recently unanimously backed a proposal lodged by Deputy Carolyn Labey to delay administering the levy until a review could be carried out. The charge, was due to be implemented next month but will now not be introduced until…

READ MORE
heatwave-sparks-unprecedented-electricity-demand

Heatwave Sparks Unprecedented Electricity Demand Across Eastern U.S

READ MORE

texas electricity

Texas produces and consumes the most electricity in the US

READ MORE

Switch from fossil fuels to electricity could cost $1.4 trillion, Canadian Gas Association warns

READ MORE

wind power

BNEF Report: Wind and Solar Will Provide 50% of Electricity in 2050

READ MORE