Development of a Novel, Dual Loaded Building Material: The Alkali-Activated Cement Battery

Abstract

Energy storage is one of the great challenges of modern society. Finding a cheap, effective way to store electricity would have the potential to revolutionize many industries. While a large part of the public’s focus in on smaller energy storage for portable electronics, electric cars, etc.; storage for large scale implementation could have an equal or greater impact on society. It could provide a solution to load levelling issues facing the implementation of renewables such as photovoltaics and wind on a large scale. This thesis aims to address that issue by investigating the possible functionality of developing a battery made almost entirely of cement that could serve as both structural material and energy storage device. It would be an energy storage option that could be integrated directly into a building’s structure. This cement battery would answer the energy storage conundrum by being space efficient because it would be naturally integrated into the structural system of buildings. It would also be cost effective because as will be shown in this thesis, turning cement into a battery requires less than one would think. This thesis represents the initial, exploratory research into this novel material.