Crumbling infrastructure is a widespread issue in the U.S. that needs significant funding and attention. Luckily, teams of researchers are working on new technology to help solve the problem.
Allium, a startup founded by alumni of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has developed an innovative method to make steel more resistant to corrosion. The startup said the method could triple the lifetime of essential infrastructure like bridges, train tracks, and pipes, according to a report from MIT News.
"Across the U.S., the typical bridge deck lasts about 30 years on average — we're enabling 100-year lifetimes," said Steven Jepeal, CEO and co-founder of Allium, per MIT News.
"There's a huge backlog of infrastructure that needs to be replaced, and that has frankly aged faster than it was expected to, largely because the materials we were using at the time weren't cut out for the job. We're trying to ride the momentum of rebuilding America's infrastructure, but rebuild in a way that makes it last."
Allium's process, which has already been used on 100,000 pounds of steel rebar for new construction projects, adds an additional layer of stainless steel for corrosion protection on top of the traditional steel.
The startup says that it's easy to integrate this change into existing steel mills and scale up quickly. The finished product is "just as strong" as regular rebar that can be bent, cut, and installed in the same ways.
"We go into the mills and take big chunks of steel that are going through the steelmaking process but aren't the end-product, and we deposit stainless steel on the outside of their cheap carbon steel, which is typically just recycled scrap from products like cars and fridges. The treated steel then goes through the mill's typical process for making end products like rebar," Jepeal said.
Hundreds of thousands of bridges in the U.S. need to be repaired thanks to rusted and corroded steel. This is being accelerated by changing weather patterns, like extreme heat and floods.
With this longer-lasting steel, infrastructure problems around the world could be forever changed. Less corrosion and triple the lifespan of materials means fewer repairs and replacements will be needed, which would decrease the production of new steel and ultimately less carbon pollution.
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