The US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), in partnership with the National Laboratory of the Rockies, has launched a national centre aimed at strengthening the country's cement and concrete supply chain and accelerating the development of advanced construction materials.
The Center of Excellence for Advancement and Acceleration of Cement and Concrete Engineering Technologies (ACCENT) will combine materials testing, AI-driven data analysis and pilot-scale manufacturing to help speed the commercialisation of new cement and concrete technologies.
ORNL said the centre will also establish the United States' first publicly accessible database of performance-based concrete materials data, bringing together standardised test results, durability data and digital models to support faster qualification of new materials.
The Department of Energy said the initiative is intended to address growing pressure on the US cement supply chain, with domestic demand projected to increase by almost 30 per cent by 2032 while the country currently imports around 25 per cent of its cement requirements.
ACCENT aims to reduce the industry's typical 15-20-year innovation cycle by as much as half through collaborative research involving national laboratories, universities and industry partners.
