Demand for construction materials — such as cement, concrete and asphalt — is increasing as the U.S. builds and repairs infrastructure. Concrete is already the most widely used human-made resource in the world. Concrete and asphalt together account for roughly 1.7% of U.S. total greenhouse gas emissions, the equivalent of emissions from around 25 million gasoline-powered cars on the road each year.
In the last few years, the U.S. has made significant investments in decarbonizing the industrial sector — including construction materials — through the implementation of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). In addition, federal and state buy clean and other policies have started catalyzing markets for low-carbon products like concrete and steel. Funded by the BIL and IRA, the Industrial Demonstrations Program, which awarded key industrial sectors $6.3 billion to develop deep decarbonization technologies, is the largest federal investment in industrial decarbonization so far and highlights the scale of efforts in the U.S.
Yet more needs to be done to scale up the development and deployment of decarbonization technologies and ramp up market demand for decarbonized industrial products. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that 60% of the technologies needed to decarbonize the industrial sector by 2050 are not yet available and are still in the research, development and demonstration (RD&D) pipeline. And while the recent investments in decarbonization technologies are commendable, they provide only a fraction of the funding needed to meet net-zero targets. For example, low-carbon commercial scale projects currently under development will only be able to supply 5% of the demand for cement in the U.S. in the next 5 to 10 years.
Alongside increased RD&D grants, demand-side policies are a key lever for scaling low-carbon technologies. This lever, which aims to create a market for low-carbon products through policies like green procurement and advance market commitments, allows companies to derisk investing in decarbonization technologies by guaranteeing future sale of products as long as they meet certain low-emissions benchmarks.
The IMPACT Act 2.0 bill (H.R. 9136) — introduced by Max Miller (R-Ohio) and Valerie Foushee (D-N.C.) in the U.S. House of Representatives — would bolster the manufacturing of low-emissions cement, concrete and asphalt binder and mixes to propel U.S. industrial decarbonization.
The bill has three main sections that establish:
- Federal Highway Administration performance-based grants of $15 million to facilitate the purchase of low-emissions concrete and asphalt goods.
- Advance Purchase Commitments authority for the Department of Transportation to coordinate state and local agencies to purchase low-emissions goods three or more years into the future.
- An interagency task force on innovation for improving durability, reducing costs, supporting continuous emissions reduction, increasing employment and workforce training.
The bill complements the bipartisan IMPACT Act introduced in the House of Representatives in March 2024 by Miller and Foushee, and parallels the Concrete and Asphalt Innovation Act (CAIA) introduced in the U.S. Senate in December 2023 by Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). CAIA would boost RD&D and create a first-of-a-kind program in the U.S. for government agencies to enter into contractual agreements for the future purchase of low-carbon concrete and asphalt.
Why This Legislation Is Important
IMPACT Act 2.0 would pave the way for American industries to innovate the foundational materials of our construction industry — concrete and asphalt — toward lowering emissions while strengthening our workforce and reducing costs.
This legislation, along with the IMPACT Act and the Concrete and Asphalt Innovation Act, are a legislative package that will incentivize and support both producers and consumers of low-emission, American-made construction materials while benefiting the communities in which they are produced.
The bipartisan introduction of this bill by Reps. Miller and Foushee is an important step toward building a green, innovative and robust American industry.