2025 Award Winners and Nominees
Project Name
Applied Materials Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization (EPIC) Center
Description
Cemex, an NRMCA producer member, played a critical role in the construction of the Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization (EPIC) Center, a groundbreaking research and development facility led by Applied Materials. Once completed, EPIC will be the world’s largest and most advanced semiconductor manufacturing R&D hub, designed to accelerate innovation and talent development in semiconductor technology. The $4 billion facility, spanning 180,000 square feet—larger than three football fields—is expected to be operational by early 2026.
Cemex’s role as the primary ready-mix concrete supplier has been pivotal in meeting the project's highly specialized structural demands. Given the facility's requirement to support cutting-edge semiconductor research, its construction materials must adhere to stringent performance, durability, and sustainability standards. Cemex worked closely with the project’s engineers and contractors to develop and deliver innovative concrete solutions that met these complex specifications.
Evidence
The EPIC facility presented unprecedented engineering challenges, particularly in its seismic resilience requirements. The structural design mandates that the facility withstand a 9.9 magnitude earthquake for 10 minutes, necessitating robust and precisely engineered concrete mixes. Cemex’s technical expertise was instrumental in meeting these extreme structural demands through the development of specialized mix designs.
Key innovations in Cemex’s concrete solutions for EPIC include:
• Advanced Self-Consolidating Concrete (SCC): Given the heavy reinforcing steel congestion in vertical elements, Cemex engineered three unique SCC mix designs that provided exceptional flowability around tightly spaced rebar without the need for mechanical vibration, ensuring optimal placement and long-term structural integrity.
• High-Performance Concrete Strengths: Concrete elements in this project required compressive strengths ranging from 6,000 psi to 10,000 psi, necessitating precise material selection and rigorous quality control.
• Thermal-Controlled Mat Foundation: The 100,000 cubic yard mat foundation required two specially formulated mix designs that adhered to Equivalent Cement Content limitations, minimizing thermal cracking while maintaining durability and strength.
• Extensive Testing & On-Site Quality Control: Due to the unprecedented nature of these concrete mixes, comprehensive lab testing was conducted to validate performance before placement. Ongoing on-site quality control ensures consistency and adherence to project specifications throughout construction.
Cemex’s expertise in engineering and delivering customized, high-performance, and sustainable concrete solutions has been essential in advancing the construction of this next-generation semiconductor R&D facility, making it a deserving candidate for the Concrete Innovations Award.
LINKS:
1. https://ir.appliedmaterials.com/news-releases/news-release-details/applied-materials-launches-multibillion-dollar-rd-platform
2. https://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickmoorhead/2023/06/07/applied-materials-announces-4-billion-investment-in-epic-center-for-rd-collaboration/
3. https://semiwiki.com/semiconductor-services/techinsights/330159-applied-materials-announces-epic-development-center/
4. https://www.hoffmancorp.com/epic-center/
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