Cement-like building material doubles up as an electrolyte in rechargeable battery

Researchers in France and Spain have developed a cement-like material from a geopolymer and shown how it can simultaneously serve as a solid electrolyte in a rechargeable electrochemical energy storage system. ‘This is more than a battery’, says Vadim Kovrugin, who carried out the work at the University of Bordeaux and the University of the Basque Country. ‘It is a new material concept, where infrastructure does not merely stand still but can actively contribute to the energy ecosystem.’