By Charlotte Reid 
Here we will tell you how ‘living cement’ was created and how it could be used.
Are the days of traditional cement, which we have seen since childhood when trying to lay floors or build walls in our homes, numbered?
In the UK, everyone was surprised by the announcement that a group of researchers had created ‘living cement’. Yes, that’s right. It is also called ‘living cement’.
Living cement
But… what does it look like?
The website states that, in addition to its use in construction, ‘it also serves to store and generate energy.’
This breakthrough, reminiscent of a scene from a film, was achieved by scientists at a British university.
Following the announcement, construction is coming to life, the changes are surprising, and from now on, it is being carried into the future.
AS reports that to create living cement, researchers ‘integrated the bacterium Shewanella oneidensis, known for its ability to extract electrons from its cell, into concrete, creating a network of charges that stores and releases energy.’
As iNaturalist Ecuador explains, Shewanella oneidensis is ‘a bacterium known for its ability to reduce metal ions and live in both oxygenated and oxygen-free environments.’
Unión Rayo notes that bacteria, ‘like any form of life, need food.’
In response to this, a new technology has emerged. Scientists ‘have developed a microfluidic system that supplies them with proteins, vitamins and minerals, as if they were in an aquarium. Thanks to this mechanism, the microorganisms remain active, and in the event of death, they can even revive and restore their energy capacity, so we are talking about an endless cycle.’
‘This technology allows up to 80% of the original capacity of the material to be restored, both inert and active,’ said Qi Lu, the lead researcher of the discovery, as quoted by AS.
Qi notes that ‘this is the first step towards making the walls and foundations of the future function as batteries.’
Future applications
In both urban and rural areas, ‘living concrete could serve as a support for solar panels, wind turbines or autonomous networks, if the amount of energy it can store can be increased,’ reports Inspenet, a website dedicated to engineering topics.
They note that, according to the team from the aforementioned Danish university, ‘a room built using this cement can store up to 10 kWh of energy in its walls alone, which is enough to power a business server for 24 hours.’
If active cement is used in public infrastructure, such as bridges or tunnels, ‘it will be able to power structural sensors without cables or constant maintenance.’