693JJ3-24-BAA-0003-002.pdf

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Infrastructure Research and Development (HRDI)

Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)

693JJ3-24-BAA-0003: Research Initiatives in Support of FHWA Next Generation Structural Materials and Systems

Call 002: Bridging the Use, Innovation, Life, and Durability of Concrete

(BUILD Concrete)

November 14, 2025 https://sam.gov/opp/467ddb3e92da404f9cd1511478f64446/review

Broad Agency Announcement No.: 693JJ3-24-BAA-0003 Solicitation/Call No.: 693JJ3-24-BAA-0003-002

1. Solicitation Open/Close Dates

• Opening Date: November 14, 2025

• Questions Due Date: December 8, 2025

• White Paper Due Date: January 22, 2026

• Anticipated Date of Advisory Notifications Sent: February 9, 2026

• Proposal Due Date: TBD

White Papers and Proposals are due by 4:00 p.m. ET time on each due date. There will be no exceptions to the time and date on which responses are due, unless determined otherwise by the Government. White Papers and Proposals received after the closing date/time will not be considered.

Once all white paper offerors have been notified whether or not they have been encouraged to submit a full proposal, Call 002 will be amended to specify the exact Proposal due date.

2. Solicitation Topic:

Structural Concrete Research Program Topic: HRDI40-CR-002 Title: Bridging the Use, Innovation, Life, and Durability of Concrete (BUILD Concrete)

The concrete industry has undergone more change in the last 10 years than it did in the prior 60 years. The driver for this was industry-led innovation, as showcased by the cement producer’s shift from traditional Type I/II cement to a Type IL cement as the majority on the market as of 2023. A primary barrier to entry for this new cement was state Departments of Transportation (DOTs), where their specifications and lack of familiarity with the new material resulted in a decade long delay of adoption from the establishment of an initial consensus material specification that was passed in 2012. This shift was a catalyst for innovation and change in the industry, with at least 30 different innovative materials currently known to be attempting to make similar inroads in the marketplace. These materials boast a variety of different claims including lower costs, improved performance, better supply, and lower variability. With ongoing challenges from diminishing sources of conventional supplementary materials like fly ash and seasonal shortages of silica fume and ground-granulated blast furnace slag, these innovative alternative cements and supplementary materials collectively represent a significant improvement to the supply chain for concrete production and construction.

The FHWA seeks to accelerate the implementation of next generation binder technologies into engineering practice while assuring these materials maintain proper durability and improve infrastructure integrity. 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 binders to be benchmarked against (at a minimum) an industrially produced Class A concrete with a target 28-day compressive strength of 4000 psi (see Table 8.2.2-1, AASHTO LRFD Bridge Construction Specifications), with mixture proportions preferably in general agreement with the offeror’s regional norms.

The benchmarked performance is to be limit-state based, considering the following limit states for reinforced concrete elements (AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications 9th Ed. references provided). Preference will be given to proposals which include data generation resulting from structural testing performed on reinforced concrete elements.

• Strength Limit State (Article 5.4.4) o Flexure (Article 5.6.3.2) https://sam.gov/opp/467ddb3e92da404f9cd1511478f64446/review o Axial (Article 5.6.4.4) o Shear (Article 5.7.3.3, Article 5.7.4.3) o Development length (Article 5.10.8.2.1a)

• Service Limit State o Fatigue (Article 5.5.3) o Deflection (Article 5.6.3.5, Article 9.5.2) o Diffusion based corrosion o Freezing and thawing o Physical salt attack o Sulfate resistance

And codified characteristic behaviors and material properties (Article 5.4):

• Compressive strength development

• Modulus of rupture

• Tensile strength

• Modulus of elasticity

• Poisson’s ratio

• Coefficient of thermal expansion

• Creep

• Shrinkage

The technologies of interest are expected to be complementary to ongoing research by the FHWA on limestone calcined clay cement. In this context, “next generation binder technologies” may include but need not be limited to:

• Geopolymers

• Chemical-based strength enhancers

• Recycled or reclaimed waste products or supplementary cementitious materials

• Novel binder chemistries

• Novel synthesis or production methods.

Proposals should include the following information regarding the proposed technology:

• Basis for technology specification (e.g., AASHTO M85, M240, AASHTO M295 or ASTM C618- 23, or similar).

3. Number of Awards: It is anticipated that multiple awards will be made for this topic area. However, one award or no award may be made for this topic area depending on the quality of the proposals, individual funding requests, and total availability of funds, or other unforeseen circumstances identified by the Contracting Officer.

4. Anticipated Ceiling: See BAA Section 2.6 – Program and Project Funding Limits regarding anticipated ceiling.

5. Period of Performance: The period of performance for awards made as a result of this BAA Call are anticipated to be no longer than 24 months.

6. Award Type: See BAA Section 4.3.6 – Recommended Pricing Arrangement regarding award types.

7. Anticipated Award Dates: The Government anticipates making awards in April 2026; however, the award date may vary based on the quality of the proposals, availability of funds, or other unforeseen factors. Additionally, the issuance of this solicitation does not guarantee that an award will be made.

8. White Paper Instructions: Offerors shall submit their white papers in accordance with BAA Section 3- Project White Papers.

9. Proposal Instructions: Offerors shall submit their proposals in accordance with BAA Section 5 –

Application and Submission Information.

10. Evaluation Criteria: Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria contained in the BAA Section 6 – Evaluation and Award Process.

11. Questions: Any questions concerning this call must be submitted via email to the Contract

Specialist Raven.Merchant@dot.gov and HCFA-22sri@dot.gov no later than the date and time specified in section 3 in the following format:

Question # Reference

Contractors’ Question

1 General (if there is no specific document reference)

2 (Example) 693JJ3-24-BAA-0003-002 page 15, Section 5.2, first paragraph…

3 (Example) 693JJ3-24-BAA-0003-002, page 2, Section 9, first sentence…

Please include “Questions for BAA 693JJ3-24-BAA-0003-002” in the subject line. The full Q&A will be distributed to all Offerors. Questions will only be accepted and answered electronically.

12. Attachments:

No. Title

A B C D mailto:Raven.Merchant@dot.gov mailto:HCFA-22sri@dot.gov

12. Attachments: