Energy-Generating Concrete. |Technology News

Energy-Generating Concrete: Power Your Buildings Sustainably

Published: October 8, 2025

It’s a given that the world is running on high energy costs, and scientists are leaving no stone unturned to find not only greener but also cheaper sources. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have unveiled what could be one of the most revolutionary discoveries of this generation. Imagine concrete blocks being used not only for construction but also as sources of energy-concurrently! This is the fete scientists at MIT have managed to achieve; turn blocks into batteries. This does not merely represent incremental innovation, but a whole new ballgame and shifts an entire paradigm of architecture and construction. Should it be scaled, the discovery could mean that walls, roads, bridges, and anything constructed could be a reservoir of renewable energy.

The MIT team, and Professors Admir Masic and Franz-Josef Ulm (the lead researchers), are the brains behind this revolution, which uses what they call electron-conducting carbon concrete (EC³). They achieved the fete by integrating ultra-fine carbon black particles into regular cement mixtures and hence created a substance that is both a building block and an energy storage.

But, different form the lithium-ion batteries, the blocks do not depend of chemical reactions to store electricity, but depend on ion adsorption, which facilitates charge and discharge that are almost instant.

Initial experiments have proven that a block of EC3 equal in size with a household refrigerator could store up to 2 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity. This sufficient to run a refrigerator, lighting, or a small vehicle charger for a couple of hours. This is significant. As several countries face energy shortages in many parts of the world, if infrastructure can itself store energy, it is not just an achievement; it is revolutionary—since buildings, roads, bridges could become autonomous, off-grid sources of energy. Unlike the expensive ingredients needed for chemical batteries (cobalt, lithium, and nickel), the EC3 could be a game-changer as the materials are readily available and cheap. Scaling could mean deployment this source of energy could happen with minimal environmental cost than today’s lithium batteries.

However, like all scientific achievements, this too is not without hurdles. For instance, the researchers have acknowledge the limitation that the energy density of EC³ is not as good as that of lithium-ion cells, meaning that the blocks will not be replacing the batteries but playing a complementary role. Coupled with that, there are challenges with durability and cost optimization. While carbon black is abundant, there is a challenge of achieving uniform conductivity and mechanical strength across large volumes of blocks.

Nonetheless, the discovery is a good step in the right direction, stretching beyond architecture and promise to usher in a future where roads to serve more that their ordinary function and charge electric cars, and bridges could power the sensors that monitor their integrity.

If the live experiments at MIT keep going and show progress, the effects stretch greatly exceeding urban preparation and structure.

Imagine creating the nations first power, utilizing this transformation to regulate their power grids or preserve photovoltaic energy directly within their homes and buildings.

This innovation could really help us to cover low areas in the regions that don’t have access to a reliable power supply and empower them to achieve independence. Moreover, power supply could reshape catastrophe recover: short term protection or emergency overpass could be constructed with built in power supply reserves, providing medical equipment support, lights and communication.

Specialists predict that once improved, the tech could merge seamlessly with renewable sources such as wind and power supply, creating a entirely recurrent renewable energy ecosystem.

Furthermore, our smart future cities to come could utilize power supply’s to empowered our system that could communicates with energy and give data in real time, improving use and decreasing our waste.

Although our road to industrialization is still long, the enthusiasm around the research of MIT lies in the game changing capability. It symbolizes not just only the new material, but a new approach where the very cornerstone of our climate becomes an active participant in suppling the world with power.

Anthropic to Pay $1.5 Billion in Landmark Settlement Over Pirated Books Used to Train AI

Published: September 8, 2025

One of the top Artificial intelligence companies, by the name of Anthropic has agreed to pay a some of $ 1.5 billion just to settle a copyright lawsuit that was brought by a group of authors who accused the firm of stealing their work to train their AI system.

The deal is still ongoing approval from the US District judge. And this is the largest publicly reported copyright case in history said by judge William Alsup . And if this deal is successful it'll mark as a turning point of legal battle over how Artificial intelligence companies use creative works to build their model.

The background of the lawsuit

Unfortunately the lawsuit case was filed by a group of best sellers authors Last year.

accuse Anthropic of using millions of pirated book to train their claude AI chatbots . While building a multi billion platform without any compensation to the real creators.

The ruling from judge Alsup shaped the entire case. Unfortunately for Anthropic, in June judge Alsup acknowledged that the library of Anthropic contains over more than seven million pirated book , and the company could face damages up to $150,000 per infringed work.

He also found out that the book was very profitable to Anthropic and it was exceedingly transformative. This means that the act of training large language models on a existing work could be considered very legal under the US to copyright law. Meanwhile despite all of this he still allow the trial to continue, pressuring Anthropic to face questions about their training data .

The settlement.

Last Friday, Anthropic said they would resolve the plaintiffs remaining legacy claims. The lawyer of the authors Justin Nelson hailed a deal saying it's the first of it's kind in the era of ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

And this will provide a meaningful compensation for each and everyone's work. And make sure that every AI companies pay every copyright owner. This is not just any words but a powerful statement to all Artificial intelligence companies and to others creators around the world, that copyrighted works from pirate websites is totally wrong.

This settlement has open a door for everyone out there and they had scheduled in December for a trial to ensure every compensation be made effectively for the writers

Big Tech and wider Implications

This deal is not just any other deals , but it carries weight way beyond Anthropic. Unfortunately other leading AI developers out there including OPEN AI CHATGBT, MICROSOFT AND META, they're all facing some kind of lawsuits alleging copyright violations tied to their use of article, book and other creative works .

Unfortunately Anthropic that is backed by both GOOGLE-PARENT ALPHABET and AMAZON, is one of the more ethical Artificial intelligence players in the game . Their cloud chatbots was marketed as one of the safest and transparent alternatives to competitors

Aparna Sridhar the deputy general counsel announced and emphasized that the company's commitment to a responsible AI development.

We remain committed to developing a better and safer Artificial intelligence system that will help organizations and people expand their capabilities advance scientific discovery, and solve complex problems.

What it means for Creators out there.

This is huge opportunity for authors and creators to reshape how Artificial intelligence companies approach copyright law.

According to Alex Yang professor of Management Sciences and operations at the university of business school in London, the case highlights the importance of collaboration between technology developers, and creators.

Yang explained that you need all fresh training data from human beings. He also said if you want to grant any copyright to any Artificial intelligence created content you must first strengthen mechanisms that will compensate all humans for their original contributions.

With such deal creators will gain leverage to negotiate with any Artificial intelligence companies, potential leading to a new license, where all author's and publishers are paid fairly when any AI uses their work.

A Precedent for the Artificial intelligence Era

This is a great milestone for creators publishers and developer in the legal and ethical debates surrounding Artificial intelligence. In the was the companies and courts are beginning to understand how to balance technological innovation with intellectual property rights .

Unfortunately as the lawsuit of other AI giants continues, Anthropic $1.5 billion settlement will serve as a template for future resolutions making sure that creators and publishers are compensated, while AI companies gain clearer rules for training their model.