The Department of Energy Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation has awarded $117 million to 56 projects designed to strengthen the competitiveness of key American industries through energy and cost-saving innovations.
One of nine topic areas in the program is Advanced Building and Infrastructure Materials: Cement, Concrete, Asphalt Pavement and Glass. It includes four projects, funded at $2.9 million to $3 million each, with diverse partner groups of cementitious material or concrete production stakeholders and academia:
- Low-Cost Advanced Cement Material from Abundant Raw Materials, based in McMinnville, Ore. Led by Oregon-based concrete admixture developer Solid Carbon Inc., a research team will test belite-rich calcium sulfoaluminate and super sulfated slag cements with alternative supplementary materials from underwater waste streams, specifically those found in high ash-fraction forest waste biochar from tree thinning and wastewater incinerator ash. Project partners: Amrize Ltd. and Wilsonville Concrete Products, plus National Laboratory of the Rockies, Oregon State University and University of Kentucky.
- Development of Concretes Containing High-Volume Calcined and Mechanochemically Activated Clays and Carbonated Recycled Concrete Aggregates, based in Coral Gables, Fla. A team led by the University of Miami will target next-generation concrete mixtures in which low-to mid-kaolinitic content clays, portland limestone cement, and engineered recycled concrete aggregate blends enable a lowering 60 to 75 percent clinker content than typically found in concrete mix designs. The technology enhances kaolinic clay reactivity through calcination or mechanochemical activation (induction of chemical reactions via mechanical energy), to enable high clinker replacement. Project partners: Ozinga Bros. Inc. and Illinois Institute of Technology.
- Limestone/Activated Clay/Calcium Sulfate Blends for Concrete, based in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Oak Ridge National Laboratory will lead a team eyeing a next generation binder milled from readily available domestic materials. The project will develop a physically and compositionally optimized limestone, activated clay, and calcium sulfate blend to partially replace portland cement without significant impact on finished concrete performance or cost. Investigators will seek to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of clay activation by mechanochemical processes like grinding or milling that do not require heat for activation. Project partners: Carbon Upcycling, Irving Materials Inc., Imerys, St Marys Cement and Tindall Corp., plus Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, Tennessee Concrete Association, Georgia Institute of Technology and University of Texas, Austin.
- Manufacturing of Cement and Concrete Enabled by Electrochemical Technologies, based in Irvine, Calif. Researchers from University of California, Irvine, along with partners De Nora Tech LLC and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will test an electrochemical process to produce cement without the use of traditional kiln combustion methods. In lieu of a kiln, the process uses an electrolyzer – operating a significantly lower temperatures – to form calcium hydroxide.
The Advanced Building and Infrastructure Materials area also supports one glass recycling and four asphalt binder or pavement material projects. Another topic area, Electrification of Industrial Heat, will span testing of equipment suiting raw material treatment in cement production.
“DOE is committed to funding innovation that positions American industry at the forefront of the global marketplace,” said Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson. “These projects will deliver affordable, market-ready solutions that strengthen America’s energy security and support job creation and economic growth nationwide.” Advances in industrial technologies can deliver lasting benefits by lowering production costs, improving energy productivity, and bringing industrial innovation back to the United States, she added.
