What is the Advanced Building Construction Initiative?

Americans need safe, affordable, and high-quality buildings to thrive. From the homes in which we live to the businesses in which we work, the condition of our buildings directly affects the quality of lives. Yet current construction methods often make buildings more expensive and less desirable. In particular, lagging construction sector labor productivity increases the cost of new buildings and retrofit upgrades while limiting the use of energy-efficient technologies in these projects. To solve these challenges, many U.S. construction companies are utilizing new practices that combine advanced off-site manufacturing of building components with streamlined delivery and installation methods.The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Building Construction (ABC) Initiative, led by the Department’s Building Technologies Office (BTO), integrates energy-efficiency solutions into highly productive U.S. construction practices for new buildings and retrofits. The ABC Initiative is developing building technologies that can be deployed quickly with minimal onsite construction time, are affordable and appealing to the market, and leverage related efforts to increase the productivity of the construction industry. In addition to funding research on technologies, software, and digitization, the ABC Initiative coordinates key building sector stakeholders to tackle related challenges, including workforce training, business models, demand growth, and service delivery. Read our fact sheet on ...