Living Cement Could Turn into Giant Batteries: Entire Buildings Will Store Energy in Their Walls

Written by Fabio Lucas Carvalho

Published on 10/09/2025 at 20:02

Updated on 10/09/2025 at 20:03

Pesquisadores criam cimento vivo que armazena eletricidade, suporta ambientes extremos e pode transformar prédios em baterias sustentáveis

Be the first to react!

A Scientific Advance Promises to Transform Construction. Researchers from Denmark Have Created the World’s First Living Cement, Capable of Storing Electricity Inside Its Own Walls, Recovering Performance with Nutrients and Withstanding Even Extreme Conditions.

Researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark have announced an advance that could transform the way we perceive building materials. The group has created the world’s first living cement, capable of storing electricity while also supporting walls and foundations.

Cement with Living Bacteria

Cement has always been seen as an inanimate material. This view started to change when scientists added the bacteria Shewanella oneidensis, known for its ability to transfer electrons out of its cell, to the cement.

With this integration, the cement gained a new function. The microbes form a network of charge carriers within the structure, allowing the material to store and release energy.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Performance Recovery

One of the most surprising findings is that the cement continues to operate even after the death of the microbes. When it receives nutrients, the material can recover up to 80% of its original capacity.

This process is made possible by a microfluidic system integrated into the cement. It supplies proteins, vitamins, salts, and growth factors that keep the bacteria alive or revive those that are already inactive.

Therefore, living concrete can be considered a recoverable energy system. Practically speaking, scientists claim entire buildings could become energy reservoirs, reducing the constant need for battery replacements.

Testing in Extreme Conditions

The material has been tested in freezing environments and also in scenarios of intense heat. In both cases, it managed to store and discharge energy.

Six connected blocks produced enough electricity to power a LED light bulb. This result reinforces the potential for use in different regions and climates.

Luo emphasized that the technology is not just a laboratory experiment. The goal is to integrate it into real constructions, such as walls, foundations, and bridges. Thus, the cement could store energy from renewable sources, such as solar panels, providing local storage capacity.

Practical Potential

The researcher explained that even modest performance can have a significant impact. A room built with living cement could store about 10 kWh. This would be enough, for example, to keep a corporate server running for an entire day.

This possibility paves the way for a self-sustaining infrastructure. Instead of installing conventional batteries, builders could simply erect walls that function as energy storage.

Alternative to Traditional Batteries

The advance comes at a time when the demand for sustainable storage is growing. Current batteries depend on limited resources, such as lithium and cobalt, and degrade over time.

In contrast, the system created by the Danish team uses abundant and inexpensive materials, along with natural bacteria. Moreover, it operates on a much larger scale than conventional devices.

Therefore, the research suggests a future where houses and buildings can act as their own batteries, storing energy directly within their structures.

Scientific Publication

The results of the study were published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science. The article describes not only the development process but also the application scenarios of living cement.

According to the authors, the findings indicate that the next generation of infrastructure could be both structural and electrical. In other words, entire buildings could store the energy they consume, changing the concept of architecture and energy.

The study was published in the journal Reports Physical Science .

Living Cement Could Turn into Giant Batteries: Entire Buildings Will Store Energy in Their Walls

A Scientific Advance Promises to Transform Construction. Researchers from Denmark Have Created the World’s First Living Cement, Capable of Storing Electricity Inside Its Own Walls, Recovering Performance with Nutrients and Withstanding Even Extreme Conditions.

Cement with Living Bacteria

Performance Recovery

Testing in Extreme Conditions

Practical Potential

Alternative to Traditional Batteries

Scientific Publication

While an average building in London or New York takes three years to be completed, in China a 26-story tower went up in five days with about 100 workers, and the global modular construction market already moves US$ 95 billion per year.

Australia installs giant concrete structures on the seabed 800 meters from the shore to create an ocean intake for desalination that will draw in saltwater and produce 30 million liters of drinking water per day.

While a traditional school may take several days just to raise walls, in Malawi a 3D-printed school had its structure ready in 18 hours, welcomed children in June, and showed a new solution to the lack of classrooms.

Goodbye traditional washing machine: Panasonic surprises housewives with the NA-G5 featuring four drums, a 13 kg washer and dryer, a 12 kg dryer, independent mini washers, a heat pump, and a 4-in-1 system awarded at the German Design Award.

Material once seen as a poor man’s choice returns as a climate bet, with red clay replacing part of the gray concrete in modern buildings, hospitals, houses, and a cultural center that transforms tradition into a solution against urban heat.

American company deploys humanoid robots to work live for 8 hours and surprises by showing machines handling packages at an almost human pace while accelerating production on a global industrial scale

The underground profession that few would face removes fatbergs from London’s sewers before the city faces overflows.

Autonomous solar boat crosses 4,000 miles of the Atlantic alone, goes more than 60 days without anyone touching it, and breaks record in a US Navy test for unmanned ocean surveillance.

Denmark deploys four 10-meter robot ships to monitor the Baltic Sea, protect submarine cables, and track invisible threats following explosions, sabotage, and rising tensions with Russia.

Textron Systems presents the Ripsaw M1, a nearly 2-ton military ground robot designed to fight alongside US Marines, hunt drones, launch munitions, and keep soldiers out of the line of fire.

Living Cement Could Turn into Giant Batteries: Entire Buildings Will Store Energy in Their Walls

A Scientific Advance Promises to Transform Construction. Researchers from Denmark Have Created the World’s First Living Cement, Capable of Storing Electricity Inside Its Own Walls, Recovering Performance with Nutrients and Withstanding Even Extreme Conditions.

Cement with Living Bacteria

Performance Recovery

Testing in Extreme Conditions

Practical Potential

Alternative to Traditional Batteries

Scientific Publication

While an average building in London or New York takes three years to be completed, in China a 26-story tower went up in five days with about 100 workers, and the global modular construction market already moves US$ 95 billion per year.

Australia installs giant concrete structures on the seabed 800 meters from the shore to create an ocean intake for desalination that will draw in saltwater and produce 30 million liters of drinking water per day.

While a traditional school may take several days just to raise walls, in Malawi a 3D-printed school had its structure ready in 18 hours, welcomed children in June, and showed a new solution to the lack of classrooms.

Goodbye traditional washing machine: Panasonic surprises housewives with the NA-G5 featuring four drums, a 13 kg washer and dryer, a 12 kg dryer, independent mini washers, a heat pump, and a 4-in-1 system awarded at the German Design Award.

Material once seen as a poor man’s choice returns as a climate bet, with red clay replacing part of the gray concrete in modern buildings, hospitals, houses, and a cultural center that transforms tradition into a solution against urban heat.

American company deploys humanoid robots to work live for 8 hours and surprises by showing machines handling packages at an almost human pace while accelerating production on a global industrial scale

Denmark deploys four 10-meter robot ships to monitor the Baltic Sea, protect submarine cables, and track invisible threats following explosions, sabotage, and rising tensions with Russia.

Textron Systems presents the Ripsaw M1, a nearly 2-ton military ground robot designed to fight alongside US Marines, hunt drones, launch munitions, and keep soldiers out of the line of fire.

Forget regular asphalt: USA, France, Germany, and Switzerland are starting to test highways with armored solar panels capable of supporting heavy trucks, generating electricity for entire neighborhoods, and transforming 1 km of road into an intelligent solar power plant.

Scientists look at the Pacific Ocean and find a signal that worries meteorologists: heat accumulated below the surface may anticipate a strong El Niño, capable of altering rainfall, droughts, and temperatures in various regions of the planet.

Taller than the Eiffel Tower when in operation, the ship Voltaire lifts giant turbines in the North Sea using a 3,200-ton crane to transform Dogger Bank into the largest offshore wind farm in the world.

The underground profession that few would face removes fatbergs from London’s sewers before the city faces overflows.

Autonomous solar boat crosses 4,000 miles of the Atlantic alone, goes more than 60 days without anyone touching it, and breaks record in a US Navy test for unmanned ocean surveillance.

Denmark deploys four 10-meter robot ships to monitor the Baltic Sea, protect submarine cables, and track invisible threats following explosions, sabotage, and rising tensions with Russia.

Textron Systems presents the Ripsaw M1, a nearly 2-ton military ground robot designed to fight alongside US Marines, hunt drones, launch munitions, and keep soldiers out of the line of fire.