According to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the FAA is testing their conductive concrete to speed up snow melt and make it easier to clear snow..
Steel shavings and carbon particles were added to the concrete, which make up about 20% of the mixture. This is enough for the hardened concrete to conduct electricity, thereby providing heat to melt any ice and snow that has settled on it. Despite this, concrete is safe to touch..
Civil engineering professor Tuan and his research team are working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to test concrete. According to Tuan, they are interested in using the technology at airports..
Tuan says the FAA is currently reviewing the developed technology for use on the runways. But conductive concrete has been used before, not at the airport, but on the bridge in 2002. It was a successful test, however, according to Tuan, it is quite expensive to build roads with such concrete, so it can only be used at targeted points..