Concrete Advancements Realized by Benefits of New Technologies (CARBON Tech)

Background
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is seeking to accelerate the implementation of next generation low-carbon binder technologies into engineering practice. This is anticipated to be accomplished in part through benchmarking performance of solutions which have achieved a suitable technology readiness level such that they may be implemented in an industrial trial. The FHWA is seeking solutions of market-ready, low-carbon binders to be benchmarked against an industrially produced Class A concrete with a target 28-day compressive strength of 4000 psi, with mixture proportions preferably in general agreement with regional benchmarks defined in the Cradle-to-Gate Life Cycle Assessment of Ready-Mixed Concrete Report – Version 3.2 analysis (July 2022).
The benchmarked performance is to be limit-state based, considering various limit states for reinforced concrete elements and codified characteristic behaviors and material properties. The technologies of interest are expected to be complimentary to ongoing research by the FHWA on limestone calcined clay systems.

Work Details
The solicitation seeks proposals for the development of next generation binder technologies with a focus on low-carbon systems for concrete and cementitious materials used in infrastructure. The goal is to create and implement a unified performance basis of evaluation for the technologies which identifies their applicable areas of practice while ensuring they maintain a minimum specifiable level of structural integrity and longevity. Proposals should include information regarding the proposed technology's estimated embodied carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per unit volume, basis for technology specification, and other relevant details. It is anticipated that multiple awards will be made for this topic area, depending on the quality of the proposals, individual funding requests, and total availability of funds.