Abstract
Climate change and the rising global energy demand have intensified the need for energy systems that are both low-carbon and scalable. Addressing this challenge requires both the invention of new technologies and the financial, regulatory, and political systems capable of deploying them at large scale. My two thesis projects address the dual nature of this challenge. My technical research investigates whether cement can be transformed into a supercapacitor through the addition of biochar, a sustainable carbon source derived from biomass. This project addresses two climate-related concerns simultaneously. First, renewable energy sources such as solar and wind are intermittent and therefore require energy storage during periods of low generation. Second, cement production contributes approximately 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions, while the use of biochar enables carbon sequestration and can partially reduce cement usage. Complementing this technical research, my STS research examines the scaling of small modular reactors (SMRs) as a form of nuclear energy. Specifically, it investigates how financing structures, regulatory licensing processes, and national energy policy shape SMR deployment in the United States, China, and Russia through the cases of NuScale Power Module, Linglong One, and Akademik Lomonosov, respectively.
My technical thesis explored the feasibility of incorporating biochar into a cement matrix to create a supercapacitor capable of storing electrical energy. This project was inspired by prior research from MIT ec³ hub, which demonstrated a cement-based supercapacitor using carbon black, a carbon additive derived from petroleum byproducts. Biochar was selected as a more sustainable alternative to carbon black because it is produced from biomass sources. The biochar was then incorporated into an assembled cell consisting of two cement-biochar electrodes separated by a glass fiber separator and saturated with a sodium chloride (NaCl) electrolyte prior to testing. To evaluate the cell’s electrochemical performance, cyclic voltammetry (CV) was used to estimate capacitance, while electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used to measure conductance. MATLAB scripts were then developed to process the experimental data and extract the capacitance and conductance values. Using biochar derived from a softwood source with particle sizes below 75 microns, a single cell achieved a capacitance of approximately 1 farad and a conductance of 0.015 siemens, indicating promising charge storage with moderate conductivity. Three cells connected in series produced a total capacitance of approximately 0.33 farads and sufficient voltage to power a red LED for an estimated 20 to 100 seconds. These results demonstrate a proof of concept that biochar enables charge-discharge behavior in cementitious materials. However, significant improvements in material selection and fabrication are still necessary to increase capacitance for large-scale implementation. Future research could evaluate alternative biomass feedstocks to further improve capacitance and overall device performance.
My STS research explored how financing structures, regulatory licensing processes, and national energy policy influence SMR deployment in the United States, China, and Russia. Using Actor-Network Theory, the study examined SMR deployment as the outcome of relationships among human and non-human actants. Human actants included governments, regulators, utilities, investors, and reactor developers, while non-human actants included policy frameworks, financing mechanisms, licensing procedures, and the reactor technologies themselves. Specifically, China and Russia demonstrated stronger state-backed coordination than the United States, as shown by the successful completion of Linglong One and Akademik Lomonosov, respectively. In China, Linglong One was designated as a key project in the 12th Five-Year Plan, received approximately $100 million in design-phase funding, and experienced streamlined licensing through a regulatory framework ranging from 13 to 62 pages. In Russia, Akademik Lomonosov advanced under Rosatom’s vertically integrated control of the nuclear industry, received a ten-year operating license from Rostekhnadzor in 2019, and was supported through approximately $740 million in government funding. In contrast, the United States’ NuScale Power Module faced a regulatory framework designed for conventional reactors, resulting in a 12,000-page design certification application. Different priorities among actants such as the Department of Energy (DOE), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), NuScale, and utilities created a fragmented actor-network. Projected construction costs of $9.3 billion, only $1.4 billion in federal support alongside a $30/MWh tax credit, and insufficient utility subscribers ultimately resulted in the project’s cancellation. The study concluded that for the United States to compete in SMR deployment, it does not need to replicate the political systems of China or Russia. Instead, it must provide a clearer long-term national energy policy for small modular reactors, create a licensing process specifically for advanced reactors, and reduce the financial risks of such projects through greater government funding.
