I never really got a charge out of going to work, but this could change that.
If the metal in the anode and the cathode needs to be replaced because the lye in cement causes it to degrade over time, does the whole cement structure need to be replaced?
Most of the metallic batteries are quite toxic in manufacture and disposal. This seem much less so. I’d like to see what the PCA says about this as concrete has a very well understood chemistry.
This probably ends in everyone inside being electrocuted with no way out. Be careful
I’m thinking someone drilling into the wall for a picture might hit the rebar and become instant ash.
Cement is a sustainable building product?
Nickel, carbon, cement and iron...Sustainable?
It’s only at the end of the article that we see confirmation that this is actually a battery, with an electrolyte, an anode and a cathode.
Since it’s a battery we need to ask if the electrolyte will ever need replacing. It would be horribly expensive to tear down parts of a building to replace the electrolyte, or even a cell that isn’t working. The assumption here seems to be that this battery will never need maintenance or replacement.
What happens if you touch one of the charged parts, an anode or a cathode?
Will there be signs warning that when the building is eventually torn down, long in the future, that the concrete carries an electrical charge and to be careful not to get jolted?
I wonder if this is one of those research projects concocted to extract that wonderful grant money from the government and destined to be scrapped at the end with the final verdict something like “The concept has validity, and we had a lot of success in this project, but it was determined to not be justifiable economically.”
Oh, and lightning strikes to the building need to be taken into consideration. Not mentioned in the article.
The demand for carbon fiber will soar and so will the price which will affect the cost of carbon fiber consumer products.
Oh yeah?
Pyramids were batteries, according to various people who study these things. You’ve all heard about that, yes?
So many links out there, if anyone is inclined to leave politics behind today and go in search of ancient aliens. Fun stuff for distraction.
Another one of these experiments that if were put into actual practice and a building is constructed, what could possibly go wrong?
What could possibly go wrong with a huge, multi-story cement building, charged with a zillion volts? Or is it watts?
And the tinfoil hat concession would able to profit from all portions of the spectrum as well.
be back after lunch to read, red
thanx for posting this
So you are on the 20th floor and it has a short circuit?
“Imagine an entire twenty-story concrete building that can store energy like a giant battery.”
Imagine “catastrophic discharge”...
"Results from earlier studies investigating concrete battery technology showed very low performance, so we realised we had to think out of the box, to come up with another way to produce the electrode. This particular idea that we have developed - which is also rechargeable - has never been explored before. Now we have proof of concept at lab scale," explains Emma Zhang, Doctor, formerly of the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, now Senior Development Scientist at Delta of Sweden "We are convinced this concept makes for a great contribution to allowing future building materials to have additional functions such as renewable energy sources," says Luping Tang, Professor at the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology
Sleeping in a battery has to be as safe as sleeping on an x-ray machine what could go wrong.
I can still recall the old-wives tale to never put a lead-acid battery down directly onto a concrete floor. Putting it down on wood that was between the battery and the concrete was ok. Otherwise it would drain itself via the contact with the concrete. That has changed and is no longer true.