Cement and Water Good Source to Build Large Scale Energy Storage

By Shubhendra Anand , 31 December, 2024

The energy sector is preparing at its best for the clean energy transition in 2024. The mass-scale production of renewable energy sources indicates a lack of energy-storing capacities. The advancement in battery technologies or other alternatives to store renewable energy is the primary factor reducing the growth of the clean energy transition. Research in 2024 will develop the technology for renewable storage with the help of water and cement.

Experts cite that significant scale transition in the energy sector drives the production of renewables. Further, it demands widespread consumer adoption, which concretes the idea of energy storage. There are many options for renewable production in the energy sector. However, the energy sector failed to set up storage capacities for renewables, which forced the industry to produce rapidly. Energy storage over the years could have reduced the rapid production rate of renewables by 2024. The energy sector faces specific issues in balancing energy production and demand. This is because, at a time when renewable production is essential, the industry simultaneously needs storage capacities. How fossil fuels harnessing storage happens in the energy sector is unlikely.

Additionally, there is a scarcity of mineral precursors used in batteries. Hence, it reduces the chances of mass production for energy storage. Researchers considering all these factors find inexpensive, locally available materials to build an alternative for large-scale energy storage. These two materials are water and cement, and when paired with microporous carbon black, they can produce high-rate capability supercapacitors. 

Research on storage capacity development shows that high-rate supercapacitors rely on three factors. These are an electron conductive network, a reservoir porosity for charge transfer, and a large specific surface area for storage porosity. All these combinations are easily found in carbon-doped cement. Hence, cement composites can be a good option for bulk energy storage. Therefore, integrating these technological advancements into the cement and water mechanism can benefit residential and industrial applications.

                          Market predictions for energy storage over the years: