In Denmark, a group of researchers at Aarhus University has broken new ground in the world of biotechnology. Qi Luo, the lead researcher of the study group, presents the new and innovative living cement. The key to this living cement is the inclusion of electric bacteria of the Shewanella species. The choice of these smart materials aids energy storage and promotes renewable energy. The combination could be a major breakthrough in construction.
New findings in biotechnology
Innovation usually confuse boundaries, and few fields personify that more than biotechnology. From helping the human body to reinventing the way we generate electricity, science is presenting what’s possible and what’s able to do.
Currently, a group of Danish investigators has pushed those limits again — throught the reinvention of the world’s most normally building material: cement.
Investigators at Aarhus University, Denmark’s second-largest investigation institution in the world, have carried out what they’re naming the world’s first “living cement.” In easy terms, it’s a building material infused with bacteria that can store and release electricity. We are facing a completely innovative development in the current landscape.
How a microbe is transform into cement: a new power source
The confidential information lies in Shewanella oneidensis, a hardy microbe famous for its unusual feature to push electrons outside its own cells explained a press release from the institution. By embedding this bacterium into concrete, investigators elaborated a microscopic power grid within the material itself — one that can hold and discharge energy.
In contrast to most organisms, S. oneidensis is able to survive with or without oxygen, making it in specific durable in cement’s tough environment. But even bacteria ask for food, and concrete isn’t exactly a buffet.
Next, we will explain the difficulties that the group of researchers has had to deal with in order to continue with the investigation.
Feeding the cement to keep it alive
The Danish team solved this difficulty by engineering a microfluidic nutrient system at the inner of the cement. Picture it in you mind as an IV drip of proteins, vitamins, and minerals that keeps the bacteria alive — and even revives them if they die off.
This method can store again up to 80% of the material’s original capacity, both its structural and energy operations. In other words, this cement doesn’t just build. It heals and powers too.
Once again, it can be seen that this marks a turning point for the world of construction and biotechnology.
A glimpse of the future: buildings that power themselves
To prove the notion, Luo’s team built six cement blocks, connected them together, and generated enough electricity to light up an LED bulb. It’s a small start, but the implications are enormous. In addition, the research group is committed to demonstrating the effectiveness of this innovative and effective material.
At the same time there is still a long way to go, it is must be underlined that it’s not just a simple lab experimenT. In addition, Qi Luo, the project’s lead researcher, emphasized the new achievement.
“We envision this technology being integrated into real buildings, in walls, foundations, or bridges, where it can support renewable energy sources like solar panels by providing local energy storage.”
Picture in your a regular room built with bacteria-infused cement: “even at a modest energy density of 5 Wh/kg, the walls alone could store about 10 kWh – enough to keep a standard enterprise server running for a whole day,” he added.
For now, it’s just a flickering LED. But tomorrow, it could be the spark that powers entire cities. These innovations will have to be taken into account so that construction projects also have a new perspective that will influence the future.
