Electrokinetic geosynthetics: from research to hype to practice

Electrokinetic geosynthetics enable civil engineers to put electrical energy into the ground to stiffen it and control groundwater flows. This paper summarises the evolution of the technology over the past 25 years, from research by way of hype and into practice. It was conceived in 1993 at Newcastle University in the UK, combining established knowledge of geotextiles with historical studies of electrokinetics. A series of UK government-funded research programmes helped to generate global interest in its possible applications, leading to a technology spin-off company being incorporated in 2001 to attract private venture capital investment and further development funding. This eventually narrowed down the practical applications to slope stabilisation and dewatering, which now form the company's main revenue streams.