Living cement: concrete that stores energy

September 11, 2025

Researchers at Aarhus University in Denmark have discovered that cement can do much more than provide structural support. By embedding living bacteria into the world’s most widely used building material, the team has engineered a bio-powered supercapacitor capable of storing and releasing electricity.

Unlike conventional storage systems, this innovative “living concrete” can even regain its energy capacity when fed with nutrients, blurring the line between lifeless material and living system.

Bacteria that turn cement into energy storage

The breakthrough relies on Shewanella oneidensis, a bacterium known for its unique ability to transfer electrons outside of its own cells. Once integrated into cement, these microbes create a microscopic network of charge carriers that makes the concrete behave like an energy storage device.

Early experiments already show that the bio-cement outperforms traditional cement-based storage technologies. Even more impressive, the material continues functioning after the microbes die — and can be revived by adding nutrients.

Smarter, Self-Recovering Building Materials

One of the biggest challenges with microbial systems is nutrient depletion, which causes performance loss. To solve this, the Aarhus team embedded a microfluidic delivery system inside the cement. This supplies essential proteins, salts, vitamins, and growth factors that sustain or reactivate bacterial activity.

This self-recovery method restores up to 80% of the cement’s original storage capacity, making it far more sustainable than traditional batteries that degrade irreversibly.

Tested in real-world conditions

The researchers didn’t stop at lab tests. The bio-cement was subjected to freezing and high-heat environments and still maintained reliable charge and discharge cycles. When six cement blocks were connected, they generated enough electricity to power an LED bulb.

Lead scientist Qi Luo envisions a future where this technology is seamlessly integrated into real structures. Walls, foundations, and bridges could all serve dual purposes: providing shelter while also storing renewable energy from sources like solar panels.

Even at moderate performance levels, the benefits are significant. For example, a single room built with this material could store around 10 kilowatt-hours (kWh) — enough to run an enterprise-grade server for a full day.

A sustainable alternative to lithium batteries

The timing couldn’t be better. With the rapid expansion of renewable energy, the world faces an urgent need for affordable and eco-friendly energy storage. Traditional batteries depend on scarce, expensive materials such as lithium and cobalt, and they degrade with repeated use.

In contrast, the cement-based microbial storage system uses abundant raw materials and naturally occurring bacteria. Its scalability also makes it suitable for large-scale infrastructure projects, far beyond the capacity of standard devices.

The future: buildings that power themselves

This groundbreaking research suggests a future where buildings act as living batteries. Homes may store daytime solar energy in their very walls, and bridges might power their own monitoring sensors without external batteries.

As Luo summarized, “This isn’t just a lab experiment. We see this technology being part of future construction, where concrete doesn’t just hold up buildings but helps power them too.”

In short, tomorrow’s infrastructure may not only be structural but also electrical — transforming the way we think about both energy storage and architecture. Instead of installing batteries, future builders may pour them directly into the foundation.