US launches Cement and Concrete Center of Excellence

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonisation Office (IEDO) has announced plans to create a Cement and Concrete Center of Excellence to accelerate the development and adoption of novel low-carbon cement and concrete technologies. US national laboratories can receive up to US$9m through an upcoming competitive lab call to develop and lead the centre. The centre aims to support collaboration across academia, national labs, government agencies and corporations to develop and validate low-carbon cement and concrete technologies, increase the industry’s economic competitiveness, and help the US reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. 

The new centre forms part of the DOE’s strategy to leverage the convening power of the National Labs to support industrial decarbonisation technologies from idea inception to adoption on US factory floors. Through offices like IEDO, the Office of Technology Transitions, and the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, the DOE is investing in generating technology innovation and accelerating the commercialisation, market demonstration, and demand-side adoption of those technologies. 

The Cement and Concrete Center of Excellence will support investments like these by bringing together the research community with market analysis experts and customers to validate technologies and ensure successful, data-driven market integration. Together, the offices anticipate announcing additional opportunities for the national labs and its partners to support DOE’s inception-to-adoption efforts, beginning with initiatives to commercialise mature, low-carbon technologies.