Cement is the backbone of modern infrastructure, used in everything from buildings and roads to bridges and energy systems. Yet, its production is among the most energy-intensive industrial processes, accounting for 2-3 percent of global energy use and approximately 9 percent of human-made CO2 emissions. Traditional cement manufacturing relies on fossil-fuel-based kilns that heat materials to extreme temperatures for hours, making the process inefficient, costly and difficult to electrify. As global demand rises due to population growth and aging infrastructure, there is an urgent need for new production methods that improve energy efficiency, reduce cost and environmental impact, and maintain high performance.

This Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) project introduces flash Joule heating (FJH), an electrified process that rapidly heats raw materials to extreme temperatures in seconds—enabling fast, energy-efficient synthesis of cement clinker. Its compact, modular nature supports decentralized production, reducing transportation-related costs and emissions while enabling local use of raw materials and industrial wastes. By integrating advanced synthesis, modeling, experiments, and AI-guided optimization, this project seeks to revolutionize cement production while training the next generation of engineers and scientists in materials science, civil engineering, and artificial intelligence.