Graphene-infused concrete could power EVs

A graphene-infused concrete could allow electric vehicle charging while parked or on the road.

Australian-based Talga Resources makes concrete which can conduct electricity, using it for purposes such as underfloor heating and lightning protection.

But the company’s managing director Mark Thompson says tests show its graphene-enhanced concrete “achieves such high electrical conductivity that it can act like the heating element of an electric stove”.

That means it can be used for a variety of purposes, including potentially wireless charging EVs.

Thompson says the conductivity can also be achieved through a very low graphene loading, but a larger amount of ore processing by-products.

Graphene is a sheet layer of carbon atoms, tightly bound in a hexagonal honeycomb lattice, and the infused concrete could provide a global market worth about $US450 million annually, Stockhead reports.

It could also be used for anti-static flooring, electromagnetic interference shielding to protect electrical devices, strain sensors and grounding/lightning protection, as well as heating roads to remove ice and snow.

Talga says it will investigate the potential of the electrically conductive concrete for a cost-effective role in enabling inductive (wireless) charging technologies for EVs while driving and parked.

The prototype will be put to potential development partners.

Talga’s idea of wirelessly charging EVs is new to them and has been developed at the company’s research and development lab in the United Kingdom, electrive.com reports.

A first step is likely to involve heated areas for removing ice and snow from key transport routes and airports.

German start-up Magment developed a magnetised cement for inductively charging EVs. The concrete is mixed with ferrite particles from recycled electronic waste, allowing energy to flow into a coil to then inductively charge electric vehicles.

It can be used in asphalt or cement, and projects are underway in Finland, Germany and China.

In Europe, on road or dynamic charging is progressing, but generally through more mechanical means.