Living microbial cement supercapacitors with reactivatable energy storage

For millennia, cement has been regarded as inert structural material. Here, we challenge this long-standing perception by transforming cement into a “living” energy device through the development of a microbial cement supercapacitor. This biohybrid system achieves 178.7 Wh/kg energy density and 8.3 kW/kg power density, demonstrating significantly enhanced performance over conventional cement-based capacitors. By integrating electroactive microorganisms into cement, we establish a functional charge storage network that leverages extracellular electron transfer to enable dynamic redox-active energy storage. This system exhibits cycling stability, retaining 85% of its capacitance after 10,000 cycles. Even after microbial inactivation, residual conductive networks and redox-active biofilms sustain charge storage. Moreover, we introduce a reactivation strategy, wherein an embedded microfluidic network periodically supplies nutrients to restore microbial activity, enabling up to 80% capacitance recovery and sustaining long-term charge transfer efficiency. Our findings establish a new paradigm for bio-integrated, cement-based energy materials, paving the way for energy-autonomous infrastructure.