The appropriate selection of materials for the construction of typical building components is a factor that significantly affects the properties of the entire building, including its energy efficiency as broadly understood. One of the most widely used construction materials is concrete. However, in terms of thermal insulation, this material has very average properties. For this reason, in modern construction, lightweight concrete is increasingly used, which offers much better thermal insulation parameters compared to regular concrete at the expense of lower mechanical strength. The aim of the project is to develop a lightweight, highly porous cement-based material obtained by direct gelatinisation of starch in a cement slurry. This type of cement composite has not been tested before. Therefore, basic research is required, including a series of comprehensive tests and analyses on the properties of this material. The essence of the analysed proposal is to obtain a cement matrix with a very high porosity exceeding 60% by heating mixed fresh cement paste with an admixture of starch to the gelatinisation temperature. The mix can also involve the addition of gypsum and a pozzolan (metakaolin, zeolite, microsilica or fly ash). As a result, a gel-like cement-starch substance with a plastic consistency is formed. The use of the starch gelatinisation process directly in the cement slurry makes it possible to obtain a very homogeneous material, in which the initial, temporary structure is starch gel, around which, after the start of the setting time, the target structure is formed based on cement or other binders. The main goal of the project is to determine the properties of such cement-based materials, particularly their thermal, strength, microstructural and moisture properties. Based on the preliminary research already carried out, it is hypothesised that it is possible to obtain a group of materials characterised by a relatively high value of compressive strength, while maintaining very good thermal insulation properties in a given range of the volume density of the material. However, the presented hypothesis requires a series of long-term and comprehensive studies on the method of producing these types of materials, the rheological properties of fresh mixtures, methods of conditioning and curing, and the properties of the mature structure of a lightweight cement composite – gel concrete. The project will be divided into several stages. The first preliminary stage will answer questions about the basic parameters of fresh mixes, such as: the influence of the composition and types of ingredients on the consistency of the fresh mix and the properties of cured concrete, the influence of the amount of starch used on the gelatinisation process and the resulting consistency of gel concrete, the influence of the gelation temperature on the properties of gel concrete, the influence of the method of mixing the ingredients and the technique of forming specimens. In the second stage, the process of curing and conditioning of composites will be tested. The third stage provides for the performance of compressive strength, thermal, microstructural and moisture tests in relation to selected mix compositions obtained from the first two stages. In the fourth stage, the properties provided for in the third stage will be tested on composites obtained by mixing gel concrete with lightweight fillers with good thermal properties, such as expanded clay aggregate, microspheres or expanded glass aggregate. Therefore, the aim of the project is to develop the relationships between the method of producing this type of material, the rheological properties of fresh mixes, methods of conditioning and curing, and the properties of the cured matrix of a lightweight cement composite - gel concrete. To achieve this, comprehensive research will be carried out on the properties of cement composites shaped in this way, particularly their thermal, strength, microstructural and moisture parameters. It is therefore the first project of this type in this field. Moreover, the proposal of increasing the porosity of a cement matrix by the direct gelatinisation of starch in a cement slurry is an original concept with potentially numerous applications. However, with the current state of knowledge, it is necessary to conduct comprehensive basic research on the properties of this type of lightweight concrete.