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World’s First Rechargeable Cement Battery Could One Day Power Cities

Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have created the first rechargeable cement battery. One day, the work could lead to large concrete buildings that store and deliver energy like giant municipal batteries.

The cement batteries have an iron-coated carbon fiber mesh that acts as the anode layer on top of a conductive cement-based mixture sandwiched by a nickel-coated carbon-fiber mesh cathode layer. The team added a small amount of short, electroplated carbon fibers to the cement mix to make it conductive.

For many years, researchers have pushed for more sustainable building materials, but the Chalmers group started working on futuristic building materials several years ago.

Research of concrete batteries is rare. The few previous efforts to make cement-based batteries weren’t rechargeable, and the output was meager.

The batteries from Chalmers have a lower average energy density than commercial batteries, 7 watt-hours per square meter (or 0.8 watt-hours per liter). However, the researchers believe their battery still outperforms previous concepts by more than 10 times.

The applications are many, including powering LEDs, providing 4G connectivity in remote areas, and even supporting infrastructure monitoring systems. For example, they could use solar panels to power sensors used to detect cracking or corrosion.

The ability to help monitor infrastructure seems particularly timely as a massive crack in the Interstate 40 bridge linking Arkansas and Tennessee shut down the major thoroughfare. Luckily, a routine inspection caught the “significant fracture,” but concrete batteries could one-day power sensors on parts of the bridge that are crucial for its integrity.

The proof of concept was still relatively small. The sample size was smaller than the multimeter, so it will take a bit of scale to get it to a 20-story building.

When it comes to alternative energy, what is one of the biggest arguments? Where are you going to store peak time power to be used during downtimes? The answer could be as simple as a massive battery building created to power our concrete jungles.

The Swedish Energy Agency funded the research, and the findings were published in the scientific journal Buildings.

Credit: Thomas Insights

Heavy losses for Gaza farmers. Price of cement jumps by 27%

May 30, 2021. More than a week into the ceasefire, Israel continues to severely restrict travel to and from Gaza and is prohibiting all exit of goods, as well as entry of fuel for Gaza’s power plant, construction materials, and other items.

May 30, 2021. Israel has not yet restored operations at Erez and Kerem Shalom since closing the crossings completely on May 11. More than a week into the ceasefire, Israel continues to severely restrict travel to and from Gaza and is prohibiting all exit of goods for sale outside the Strip, as well as entry of fuel for Gaza’s power plant, construction materials, and other items. Israel also continues to limit access to the “fishing zone” it enforces in Gaza’s sea space to a maximal distance of just six nautical miles off shore. The Union of Agricultural Work Committees reports that the Israeli navy has been firing at fishing boats and their crews within this area of sea as well.

Since May 25, Israel has allowed travel through Erez in rare cases, mostly to foreign staff of international organizations and foreign journalists. Patients seeking may exit Erez only in emergencies, in extraordinary circumstances and mainly by ambulance. Among the many patients denied access to medical treatment under Israel’s current policy at Erez are cancer patients in need of treatment that is not available inside Gaza. In an urgent appeal (Hebrew) to Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories and Defense Minister, Gisha and partner organizations cautioned that this conduct is illegal and extremely unreasonable.

At Kerem Shalom Crossing, only food, animal feed, and humanitarian aid for international organizations is being allowed to enter the Strip. The Ministry of Agriculture in Gaza told Gisha that as a result of Israel’s ongoing ban on exit of goods from Gaza, the local market has been flooded with surplus produce, causing heavy financial losses for farmers and suppliers, who are forced to sell at a loss, or destroy their crops.

Israel’s restrictions on the entry of construction materials have driven the price of cement up by 27 percent. The ongoing prohibition on the entry of fuel for the power plant has led to a decrease in Gaza’s overall power supply and impaired the functioning of the health, water and sanitation systems. Today, the Israel Electric Corporation completed repairs to power lines inside Israel that were damaged during hostilities. According to an update released by the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company (GEDCO), Gaza residents are now receiving 165 megawatts of electricity, which is about a third of actual demand and enough for just six consecutive hours of power followed by 12-hour outages. A GEDCO spokesperson told Gisha that there is an acute shortage in materials required to repair the remaining damage caused to Gaza’s power grid.

source :reliefweb.int

India’s Adani group enters cement sector

Indian conglomerate Adani is moving into cement manufacturing, whose increased output typically raises demand for petroleum coke and coal.

Adani Enterprises, the group’s flagship company, has set up a subsidiary Adani Cement to manufacture cement. The company did not disclose details of its planned cement production capacity but market participants said Adani may aim for at least 10mn t/yr initially.

India is the world’s second-largest cement market after China but its per capita cement consumption of 200-250 kg/yr is less than half of the world’s average per capita use of 500-550 kg/yr and a fraction of China’s average use of 1,650-1,700 kg/yr. The Indian federal government’s thrust towards building infrastructure and housing is translating into growing cement demand.

Cement is a natural extension of Adani’s power business, market participants said, with Adani Power India’s largest private-sector power producer. Its foray into cement will help the company use fly ash, a key raw material for manufacturing cement, from its power plants.

source : https://www.argusmedia.com

HeidelbergCement announces plans for world’s first carbon neutral plant

German materials producer HeidelbergCement has announced plans to build the world’s first carbon neutral plant in Sweden.

The company’s Slite factory, on the Swedish island of Gotland, presently produces around 75% of the cement used in Swedish concrete, and emits around 1.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. If all goes according to plan, all of this carbon will be captured and sequestered underground.

• The plan is explained here:

Dominik von Achten, chairman of Heidelberg, said the aim was to make the company “the leader in the global cement industry on its transformation path towards climate neutrality”.

He said the goal was to “find, apply and scale technical solutions for carbon capture and utilisation or storage”.

The company estimates that the authorisation processes and the construction period will take around 10 years. It has already launched feasibility study to examine technology, environmental impact, legal issues, financing, logistics, and energy supply.

Heidelberg is currently building the world’s first full-scale installation for carbon capture at its Brevik plant in Norway, capturing 400,000 tonnes annually, or half of its emissions from 2024 onwards.

Giv Brantenberg, general manager of HeidelbergCement Northern Europe, commented that the company’s positive experiences at Brevik had persuaded it to “significantly ramp up” its ambitions for carbon capture.

Additionally, the use of biofuels in will be increased in line with the Heidelberg’s commitment to raising the share of biomass in its fuel mix.

New AMD for Shun Shing Group Hong Kong

Seven Rings Cement’s mother organisation Shun Shing Group Hong Kong recently witnessed the appointment of a new additional managing director (AMD) for its Bangladesh operation.

The appointee, Tahmina Ahmed, has been serving the company as a board director since 2007, says a press release.

Shun Shing Group has been in business in Bangladesh for the last three decades.

It established three cement factories in Dhaka, Khulna and Chattagram to manufacture Seven Rings Cement. It can also produce about 150 million bags per year.

It has been reaching the farthest corners of Bangladesh and exporting to India through over 1,000 trade partners and its own fleet of transportation.

Lafarge cement sold to Chinese

Lafarge hereby provides a further update to shareholders and the market that on 11th June 2021 an agreement for the sale and purchase of 75% of shares in the Company was executed between the Majority shareholders Financière Lafarge SAS (“Financière Lafarge”), Pan African Cement Ltd (“Pan African”) and Huaxin (Hainan) Investment Co., Ltd. (“Huaxin”) whereby Financière Lafarge SAS and Pan African Cement Ltd have agreed to sell their shares to Huaxin at an enterprise value of USD 150 million (ZMW 3.3 billion) for 100% of the Company (the “Transaction”). The closing of the Transaction is subject to the terms and conditions set out in the agreement between the parties and to customary regulatory approvals required both in Zambia and China.


Source : https://www.zambiawatchdog.com/lafarge-cement-sold-to-chinese/