MIT scientists propose power storage using cement blocks

VulcanSphere@kbin.social to Technology@lemmy.world – 162 points – MIT scientists propose power storage using cement blocks
datacenterdynamics.com

Plan to commercialize supercapacitors in the next few years

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One of the big catches is how Greenhouse gas intensive concrete production is

I think the idea here is to bake it into construction that would happen anyway. If you just need energy storage, keep using batteries. But if you're pouring a foundation already, why not also turn that foundation into a battery?

concrete seems to be used here for its structural properties, just like we do it today. Their solution doesn't seem to require it:

If more powerful capacitors are required, they can be made with a larger concentration of carbon black, at the expense of some structural strength. This could be useful for applications where the concrete is not playing a structural role or where the full strength potential of concrete is not required. For applications such as a foundation, or structural elements of the base of a wind turbine, the “sweet spot” is around 10 percent carbon black in the mix, the team says.

And how greenhouse gas intensive is carbon black production?

If you’re releasing CO2 you’re losing carbon.

If you make it with electricity it’s effectively a carbon sink.

If it's just a byproduct of other industries, like existing coal power plants, it might be seen as carbon neutral. And lithium batteries also use it.

Carbon black is produced bij burning a hydrocarbon with a limited amount of air. It's not a byproduct, but uses organic materials. This can be of renewable sources like vegetable oil, but it is made a lot from the heavy fractions in fossil oil.