ORNL launches national cement and concrete innovation hub

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in partnership with the National Laboratory of the Rockies, has launched a new national center to help strengthen the U.S. cement and concrete supply chain at a time of rising demand, increasing imports and mounting pressure on domestic infrastructure. The Center of Excellence for Advancement and Acceleration of Cement and Concrete Engineering Technologies, known as the ACCENT Center, will accelerate the development of advanced materials and manufacturing processes needed to support U.S. infrastructure, housing and industrial competitiveness.

Designed as a first-of-its-kind hub, ACCENT combines multiscale testing, AI-driven data collection and modeling, and pilot production to move cement and concrete innovations from discovery to early commercialization — a combination of capabilities not currently available in one place in the United States.

ACCENT will build the nation’s first comprehensive, publicly accessible database for concrete, housing millions of standardized, performance-based materials data and facts. By combining independent test results, long-term durability data and digital models, the database will help close critical gaps between laboratory research and field performance, enabling faster and more reliable qualification of new materials.

“The ACCENT Center represents a pivotal shift in how we address the challenges of maintaining and advancing our nation’s infrastructure,” said ORNL’s Denise Antunes da Silva, the center’s executive director. “By merging dedicated research with practical industry expertise, we’re shortening the innovation timeline and building a foundation for more resilient, cost-effective cement and concrete technologies.”

Securing America’s cement supply: key challenges and opportunities

Concrete is essential to the nation’s infrastructure, supporting roughly 80 percent of the U.S. construction industry. Although cement and concrete underpin a $25 trillion economy, the sector faces systemic bottlenecks. The United States imports approximately 25 percent of its cement — $2.6 billion annually — exposing infrastructure projects to supply and cost volatility.

These vulnerabilities are compounded by aging infrastructure and a nationwide housing shortage estimated to exceed 4 million units. At the same time, domestic cement production capacity is limited by aging manufacturing infrastructure, lengthy permitting processes and high capital costs to expand production, even as U.S. demand is projected to grow nearly 30 percent by 2032. This imbalance highlights the need for a more resilient, modernized supply chain.

“These challenges aren’t just about rising demand; they affect the nation’s infrastructure and economic stability,” said Robert Wagner, associate laboratory director for ORNL’s Energy Science and Technology Directorate. “ACCENT gives us a way to move research into the field faster. With standardized testing, better data and expanded training, the center will help reduce supply chain risks, manage costs and strengthen infrastructure safety.”

Accelerating breakthroughs in concrete innovation

To help address these challenges, the center will use its collaborative model to speed the development and deployment of advanced binders and construction materials, with the goal of cutting the typical 15- to 20-year innovation cycle by as much as half.

ACCENT will advance multiscale materials characterization by integrating unique imaging capabilities to reveal critical structure–property relationships and enable in situ analyses under a range of exposure conditions.

The center will also develop performance-based tests and accelerated durability frameworks to shorten evaluation times.

In parallel, ACCENT will monitor and predict material performance in real time through integrated sensors, predictive modeling and an AI-driven data platform designed to shorten testing cycles and improve prediction accuracy. Pilot-scale stations will speed up the transition of new materials from the lab to the field, while training of professionals will help transition new practices into widespread industry use.

“The ACCENT Center will unify R&D, testing and workforce development to close critical gaps in design, validation and skills,” Silva said. “This integrated approach will enable the rapid deployment of reliable, U.S.-made cement and concrete materials — and represents a major step toward strengthening the global competitiveness of American industry.”

Transforming cement innovation with an industry-leading framework

The center will work directly with industry through an open, secure framework that supports innovation, validation, prediction and scaling of novel binders for concrete materials. By providing a single environment for testing, data generation and collection, and performance verification, the framework reduces uncertainty and lowers barriers to adoption for new technologies. This approach builds on the demonstrated success of ORNL’s user facility models.

“The center will provide unprecedented industry access to unique testing capabilities and national laboratory expertise, fostering vital collaborations that span the entire cement and concrete value chain,” Silva said.

The ACCENT Center is a public-private partnership that brings together multiple national laboratories, universities, professional/trade associations and industry partners to accelerate the development of advanced materials and manufacturing processes. The center is funded by DOE’s Industrial Technologies Office. Learn more about the ACCENT Center.

UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the DOE’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science. — Tina M. Johnson