MIT News  July 31, 2023 A team of researchers in the US (MIT, Harvard University) investigated using cement, water, and carbon black as chemical precursors for energy storage. Texture analysis revealed that the hydration reactions of cement in the presence of carbon generates a fractal-like electron-conducting carbon network that permeates the load-bearing cement-based matrix. The energy storage capacity of this space-filling carbon black network of the high specific surface area accessible to charge storage was shown to be an intensive quantity, whereas the high-rate capability of the carbon-cement electrodes exhibited self-similarity due to the hydration porosity available for charge transport. […]