MIT researchers really are working on a form of cement that can store and deliver electricity. It doesn’t generate electricity like a solar panel, but it can store energy and release it later, functioning a bit like a giant battery built into buildings or infrastructure.
The idea: “electron-conducting carbon concrete”
MIT has developed a material called electron-conducting carbon concrete (ec³). It’s made by mixing:
Cement
Water
A liquid electrolyte
Ultra-fine carbon black particles
The carbon particles form a tiny conductive network inside the concrete, allowing electrons to move through it. That means the concrete can store and release electrical energy, behaving like a supercapacitor (a type of fast-charging energy storage device).
How much electricity can it store?
Recent improvements have dramatically increased the energy capacity:
Around 5 cubic metres of this concrete can store over 10 kWh of electricity, roughly a day’s electricity for an average household.
That is about 10× more storage capacity than earlier prototypes from 2023.
Why this is interesting
Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world, so embedding energy storage into it could transform infrastructure.
Possible uses include:
Building foundations that store solar energy for use at night
Roads or parking areas that charge electric vehicles
Self-powered buildings that store renewable energy locally
Heated sidewalks or smart infrastructure that monitors its own structural health
Important limitations
It currently acts more like a supercapacitor than a lithium battery (good for fast charge/discharge but lower energy density).
The technology is still experimental, not yet widely used in real buildings.
