Science is incredible, right? Well wait until you hear what we are about to tell you now. A team of Danish researchers has created living cement. Living cement!!! The first in the world. And of course, now you must be wondering what it is and what it is for, right? Well wait, because it is not ordinary cement that only serves to build buildings, it also serves to store and generate energy.
How is that? You may ask, well basically the walls of your house could function day by day like a powerbank. The breakthrough comes from Aarhus University, where they have managed to integrate microorganisms capable of producing electricity directly inside the material. And obviously, this completely changes the energy consumption of cities. We are going to tell you everything, wait!
How this cement was created
The secret lies in a bacteria called Shewanella oneidensis, because this bacteria has the ability to extract electrons from its own cell, and the scientists took advantage of that quality to “plug it in” to the cement. Thus, the material is not only resistant like any other, but it also works as a system capable of generating electricity.
The difference with traditional cement, as you can imagine, is abysmal because this one can regenerate up to 80% of its initial capacity, which makes it much more durable and useful. To test it, the researchers connected six blocks and managed to light up an LED lamp. It seems little but think that it is something that had never been done before, it is innovation, science and technology.
Keeping it alive
Of course, not everything is easy, because the bacteria (like any form of life) also need food. But they also thought of that, that is why they designed a microfluidic system that provides them with proteins, vitamins and mineral salts, as if they were inside a fish tank. With this mechanism, the microorganisms remain active and, if they die, they can even be revived and recover their energy capacity, so we would be talking about a “never-ending” cycle.
Qi Luo, the lead researcher of the project, believes that this is the first step for the walls and foundations of the future to function like batteries, it is incredible what technology can achieve!
Clean energy in every wall
Imagine that every building in your city was generating clean energy, valid for absolutely everything, powering houses, shops, industries. It could turn entire infrastructures into electricity generators! Imagine a bridge or a tunnel capable of supplying part of its consumption thanks to the very materials with which it is built, it is something completely incredible and could be the future.
Everyone is looking for alternatives to fossil fuels, but this technology places biotechnology at the center of the construction of the future!
What could it be used for?
Completely clean cities, used in environments with a lot of oxygen or without it, in addition, we have already seen that it regenerates and recovers energy. Perhaps they could be the basis of villages where electricity does not arrive with as much power as in big cities, architecture could be the future of clean energy and we have it right in front of us!
When biology and technology come together these things happen, these scientific advances that leave us open-mouthed and eager to know more! Yes, it is still in the testing phase and many hours of study remain to know if this will be real or if it will only remain a nice attempt, but we are already talking about entire cities that grow and breathe, and our planet cannot wait any longer to find other alternatives to combustion!