Concrete flow

With the help of a supercapacitor, Coburg researchers were able to show how electricity can be stored in concrete.

“Imagine if we could use concrete not only for structural reasons, but also as a huge energy store,” says Prof. Dr. Markus Weber. Coburg Master’s student Simeon Ulm has taken up this exciting idea and constructed a small supercapacitor with concrete. In a practical test on campus, the scientists have now been able to show that the Coburg EC3 supercapacitor works with concrete and can light up a small red light.

For the experimental setup, the project participants are drawing on the basic technical properties of capacitors. Like a battery or rechargeable battery, a capacitor is a power storage device – but the technology behind it works differently. While batteries supply electricity through chemical conversion processes, capacitors use the principle of electrostatics. Inside capacitors are two electrically conductive plates that are separated from each other by an insulating material. When a voltage is applied, positively charged ions collect on one plate and negatively charged ions on the other. An electric field is created between the plates, in which the energy is stored.

Supercapacitors

The researchers use so-called supercapacitors for their “concrete storage”. These are a special type of capacitor in which the storage capacity is increased by electrolytes. In this specific project, the storage capacity depends largely on the volume of the conductive plates – and the special concrete that was used.

The reason for using supercapacitors lies in the physical disadvantages that capacitors have compared to rechargeable batteries and batteries: They do not store very much energy. On the other hand, capacitors have a number of other advantages. They are cheaper, do not use any harmful chemicals, have an almost unlimited service life and short charging times. (cp)

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