Turning Buildings Into Batteries: MIT's Breakthrough In Conductive Concrete

Finding Genius Podcast

Richard Jacobs

Medicine, Health & Fitness

4.4 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 14 February 2026

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What if concrete could store energy that turned buildings, roads, and infrastructure into massive power banks? In this episode, we're joined by Damian Stefaniuk, Research Scientist at MIT's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub), and the Electron-Conductive Cement-based Materials Hub (EC³ Hub). Damian's research explores how concrete can be engineered to conduct electricity and store energy at up to 10x the capacity of traditional materials — while simultaneously reducing the carbon footprint of cement production…

Damian is a structural and materials engineering scientist who specializes in the development of sustainable construction materials and structures. His research focuses on science-enabled engineering of cement-based materials, with applications ranging from corrosion-resistant prestressed bridges and carbon-storing pre-cure carbonation to electron-conductive carbon concrete for renewable energy storage.

Dive in now to discover:

How concrete can be made into a conductive material.
Carbon-based conductive cement and nanomaterials.
Infrastructure's role in clean energy and emissions reduction.

You can follow along with Damian and his work here!

🎧 Listen now on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/30PvU9C

🛍️ Recommended Books from this Episode

📖 Energy Storage: Fundamentals, Materials and Applications (2nd Edition) – A comprehensive guide to the science, materials, and technologies behind modern energy storage systems.
👉 Get it here

📘 Supercapacitors: Materials, Systems, and Applications (Materials for Sustainable Energy and Development) – An in-depth look at supercapacitor technology, covering materials, design, and real-world energy applications.
👉 Check it out

📙 Linden's Handbook of Batteries (Fifth Edition) – A definitive reference on battery technology, design, performance, and emerging advancements in energy storage.
👉 Explore it here

📕 Electrochemical Supercapacitors: Scientific Fundamentals and Technological Applications – A detailed resource explaining the core science and practical applications of electrochemical supercapacitors.
👉 Discover it here

Note: These are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It helps support the podcast. Thank you!

Transcript

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0:00.0	Forget frequently asked questions.
0:02.3	Common sense.
0:03.1	Common knowledge.
0:04.1	Or Google.
0:04.7	How about advice from a real genius?
0:06.9	95% of people in any profession are good enough to be qualified in license.
0:11.3	5% go above and beyond.
0:13.1	They become very good at what they do.
0:14.8	But only 0.1% are real geniuses.
0:18.2	Richard Jacobs has made it his life's mission to find them for you.
0:22.2	He hunts down and interviews geniuses in every field.
0:25.1	Sleep science, cancer, stem cells, ketogenic diets, and more.
0:28.6	Here come the geniuses.
0:30.3	This is the Finding Genius podcast with Richard Jacobs.
0:37.4	Hello, this is Richard Jacobs with the Fine and Genius podcast.
0:41.1	Yesterday is Damien Stefaniok.
0:43.0	He's going to talk about a new concrete battery that delivers 10 times the energy boost
0:47.3	and turns buildings themselves into giant power bank.
0:50.6	She thinks it's really cool.
0:51.8	He's a research scientist at MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
0:56.1	So, you know, we'll go through that.
0:57.7	So welcome, Damien.
	...

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