RESEARCH INITIATIVE ON THE USE OF STEEL SLAG IN CONCRETE AND CEMENT

 

The research study will advance the Decarbonization Research Priority and Embodied Carbon Research Priority as listed in the RD&T Strategic Plan: Reduce carbon emissions associated with the extraction and manufacture of construction materials and the construction and maintenance of infrastructure. Develop tools, technologies, and guidance to improve infrastructure durability, longevity, and sustainability through innovative materials and structures Ensure research investments are fully leveraged through the demonstration and deployment of the resulting products and innovations

Active 20.949 Office of The Secretary, Department of Transportation B - Project Grants Not applicable. House Appropriations Committee Report #117-402 accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 “Concrete Research --The Committee directs DOT to work with an accredited research university of higher education, in partnership with a producer of steel in the United States, to conduct research on the properties of steel slag materials for use in cement and concrete, furthering previous research under the Federal Highway Administration's [FHWA] highway research and development.”, Title Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023, Public Law 117-328
Concrete Research --The Committee directs DOT to work with an accredited research university of higher education, in partnership with a producer of steel in the United States, to conduct research on the properties of steel slag materials for use in cement and concrete, furthering previous research under the Federal Highway Administration's [FHWA] highway research and development. Eligible applicant must be an accredited university with capabilities in conducting advanced research, data analysis and mining, laboratory and field testing related to pavement and asphalt materials and have a good understanding of approaches and technologies and associated sciences of a scope that covers the requested services. Additionally, the incumbent must partner with a US steel manufacturer that produces steel slag materials. The recipient Eligible Entity (accredited university) will be the direct and primary recipient of the U.S. DOT funds and must perform a substantive role in carrying out the cooperative agreement activities; it may not serve primarily as a conduit for awards to another party. Not applicable. Not applicable. Preapplication coordination is not applicable. This program is excluded from coverage under 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. If an applicant is selected for award, they will be notified and sent an award document for signature. Applicants not selected for award will be notified in writing by U.S. DOT. Only the Authorizing Official (AO) can commit the U.S. DOT. The award document, signed by the AO, is the authorizing document. Only the AO can bind the Federal Government to the expenditure of funds. Notice that an Applicant has been selected as a Recipient does not constitute approval of the application as submitted. Before the actual award, U.S. DOT will enter into negotiations concerning such items as program components, staffing and funding levels, and administrative systems, if necessary. If the negotiations do not result in an acceptable submittal, the U.S. DOT reserves the right to terminate the negotiation and decline to fund the Applicant. Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines More than 180 days. Not applicable. Not applicable. U.S. DOT may share application information within the Department or with other Federal agencies if U.S. DOT determines that sharing is relevant to the respective program's objectives. Project budgets should show how different funding sources will share in each activity and present those data in dollars and percentages. The budget should identify other Federal funds the applicant is applying for or has been awarded, if any, that the applicant intends to use. Application must discuss: o Methodologies to identify critical chemical, physical, mechanical and durability, and hydration affect to maximize utilization of steel slag in cement and concrete. o How best to utilize steel slag in cement manufacturing, as a substitute for cement, in concrete admixtures, as road base materials and aggregates, and in other innovative construction applications. o How their research proposal through laboratory testing will determine the performance and durability of steel slag concrete, aggregate, and base material etc. in the transportation infrastructure construction. o Finally, if the steel slag is deemed to be a suitable material for specific cases in construction of the transportation infrastructure, then how the proposed research study will advance the Decarbonization Research Priority and Embodied Carbon Research Priority as listed in the DOT RD&T Strategic Plan - Reduce carbon emissions associated with the extraction and manufacture of construction materials (i.e., cement and concrete) and the construction and maintenance of infrastructure. Proposals that that do not meet the stated requirements will not be considered for review or award. U.S. DOT hereby requests applications to result in the award of a new Cooperative Agreement, that will establish research on the properties and effectiveness of steel slag for use in concrete and cement and as construction material for transportation infrastructure. Not applicable. Not applicable. Not applicable. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching is mandatory. 50%. Applicants are required to provide matching funds of at least 50% of the total eligible contract costs of the cooperative agreement. In other words, under this agreement for which DOT will provide the recipient $5 million, the recipient must provide a local non-federal matching share of, at least, $2.5 million. Cost sharing or matching means the portion of project costs not paid by Federal funds (unless otherwise authorized by Federal statute). For a more complete definition, please see the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 CFR Part 200, including section 200.306 on Cost Sharing or matching. Other Federal funds using their appropriate matching share may be leveraged for the deployment but cannot be considered as part of the recipient’s matching funds, unless otherwise supported by statute. Applicants should refer to section D.2 of this opportunity for more information about submission requirements concerning cost sharing under this program.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. The planned award type is a cost reimbursement Cooperative Agreement with 50% funding match to the Federal share. The Federal share shall not exceed 50% of the total contract cost. The period of performance will be 60 months. The period of performance will begin on the effective date of the award, as stated in the resulting grant agreement, and end on the period of performance end date that is listed in the signed grant agreement, unless extended Method of awarding/releasing assistance: Lump. DATA MANAGEMENT PLAN In accordance with the U.S. DOT Plan to Increase Public Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research, and the U.S. DOT Departmental Data Release Policy (DOT Order 1351.34, adopted March 28, 2011) research cooperative agreement recipients are required to create a Data Management Plan (DMP). In the DMP, an Eligible Entity must propose program-level strategies to deposit Digital Data Sets resulting from U.S. DOT-funded scientific research in a repository that enables and allows for public access and sharing. The DMP will be reviewed and must be approved by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology following the award of a cooperative agreement. Hamid Ghasemi, Ph.D
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R) U.S. DOT
1200 New Jersey Ave., SE.
Washington, DC 20590 USA
SteelSlagResearch@dot.gov
Phone: 202-366-3994

Pankaj Arora
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R)
U.S. DOT 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE.
Washington, DC 20590 USA
SteelSlagResearch@dot.gov
Phone: 202-308-3477 69-1730-0-1-407 (Cooperative Agreements) FY 22 FY 23 est $5,000,000.00; FY 24 - The expected one-time funding amount is $5,000,000. This amount is based on the authorized amount of funding in FY 2023. The Awardee therefore should plan its budget to fulfill all requirements of the project, research, demonstration, and deployment. One cost- reimbursable cooperative agreement will be awarded for five years. This project will assist in advancing research and emerging technologies that support the Nation's goals to decarbonize the transportation sector by 2050, strengthen resilience of the Nation's transportation infrastructure, networks, and operations as guided by the strategic goals and priorities documented in the following U.S. DOT and U.S. Government plans: o FY 2022-26 U.S. DOT Strategic Plan Climate and Sustainability Strategic Goal o U.S. DOT Research Development & Technology (RD&T) Strategic Plan, FY 2022- 26 Climate and Sustainability research priorities and grand challenge o U.S. National Blueprint for Decarbonization of the Transportation Sector o U.S. DOT Climate Action Plan for Resilience and other reference material presented by the applicants.