Bridging the Use, Innovation, Life, and Durability of Concrete (BUILD Concrete)

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Infrastructure Research and Development is issuing Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) 693‑JJ3‑24‑BAA‑0003‑002 (Call 002 – “BUILD Concrete”) to fund research that accelerates market‑ready, next‑generation concrete binder technologies into engineering practice. Awards (up to a 24‑month period of performance) are anticipated in April 2026, with multiple awards possible. Offerors must submit a white paper by 4:00 p.m. ET on 22 January 2026 (per BAA Section 3) and, if encouraged, a full proposal by the date later specified in an amendment. Proposals must follow the BAA’s application, submission, and evaluation instructions (Sections 5 and 6) and include a detailed description of the binder (e.g., geopolymers, chemical strength enhancers, recycled supplementary cementitious materials, novel chemistries or production methods) and its specification basis (AASHTO M85, M240, M295, ASTM C618‑23, etc.). The core technical requirement is to benchmark each market‑ready binder against an industrially produced Class A concrete with a target 28‑day compressive strength of 4,000 psi, using mixture proportions aligned with the offeror’s regional norms. Performance must be demonstrated through limit‑state testing of reinforced concrete elements, covering strength limit states (compressive, flexure, axial, shear, development length) and service limit states (fatigue, deflection, diffusion‑based corrosion, freeze‑thaw, salt attack, sulfate resistance), as well as key material properties (modulus of rupture, tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, Poisson’s ratio, thermal expansion, creep, shrinkage). Preference will be given to proposals that generate structural testing data and that are compatible with FHWA’s ongoing limestone‑calcined‑clay cement research, indicating a technology readiness level suitable for an industrial trial.

Notice ID

c230e998e90940178a186fd08ffd688d

Solicitation Number

693JJ3-24-BAA-0003-002

NAICS Code

541330

Classification Code

AS12