The Department of Energy Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation will enlist Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and the National Laboratory of the Rockies (formerly National Renewable Energy Laboratory) in Colorado to establish the Center of Excellence for Advancement & Acceleration of Cement & Concrete Engineering Technologies (ACCENT). Along with accelerating development and adoption of next generation materials and processes, it will enhance existing national lab capabilities across six core areas.
ACCENT will engage industrial, academic and workforce stakeholders through a nationwide, rapid user-access model. The integrated approach aims to support workforce development and translate research into market-ready cement and concrete industry solutions – positioning the U.S. to reduce reliance on imported material as feedstock for the domestic construction industry.
The DOE Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation has committed $20 million to establish ACCENT – part of a $155-million program bearing grants for 16 projects aimed at enhancing U.S. National Laboratories’ capacity to develop technologies that improve the efficiency and competitiveness of American industry.
“Our laboratories are some of the greatest in the world and these projects will help our labs advance the cutting-edge technologies that make American industry the global standard in excellence and innovation,” said DOE Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson.
