Title:
Current-Carrying Concrete
Author(s):
Deborah R. Huso
Publication:
Concrete International
Volume:
48
Issue:
9
Appears on pages(s):
42-45
Keywords:
Energy storage, electron conducting carbon-cement (EC³), self-heating sidewalks
DOI:
10.14359/51752031
Date:
9/1/2026
Abstract:
A team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA, investigated the development of concrete-powered capacitors. Combining cement, water, and ultrafine nanoscale carbon black can form a conductive “nanonetwork” inside concrete, and this material can be used to create electrodes. When combined with additional materials, everyday structures like walls, sidewalks, and bridges could create capacitors that can store and release electrical energy. This article describes how structural energy storage works, the MIT Electron-Conducting Carbon-Cement-Based Materials Hub’s (MITEC3) research findings, and the future feasibility of this technology.
Related References:
1. Stefaniuk, D.; Weaver, J.C.; and Masic, A., “High Energy Density Carbon–Cement Supercapacitors for Architectural Energy Storage,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, V. 122, No. 40, Sept. 2025, Article No. e2511912122. doi: 10.1073/pnas.251191212 2. MITEC3, “Self-Heating Panels Demo in Sapporo, Japan,” MIT Electron-Conducting Carbon-Cement-Based Materials Hub, Dec. 2024, https://eccube.mit.edu/2024/12/23/self-heating-panels-demo-in-sapporo-japan/.