Consortia-Led Energy and Advanced Manufacturing Networks Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2835 To provide for the establishment of clean technology consortia to enhance the economic, environmental, and energy security of the United States by promoting domestic development, manufacture, and deployment of clean technologies, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 26, 2021 Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. CARSON, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. TONKO, and Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a pe- riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con- sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned A BILL To provide for the establishment of clean technology con- sortia to enhance the economic, environmental, and en- ergy security of the United States by promoting domestic development, manufacture, and deployment of clean tech- nologies, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Consortia-Led Energy 4 and Advanced Manufacturing Networks Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Jun 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2835.IH H2835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2835 IH SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) CLEAN TECHNOLOGY.—The term ‘‘clean 3 technology’’ means a technology, production process, 4 or methodology that— 5 (A) produces energy from solar, wind, geo- 6 thermal, biomass, tidal, wave, ocean, or another 7 renewable energy source (as defined in section 8 609 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies 9 Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 918c)); 10 (B) more efficiently transmits, distributes, 11 or stores energy; 12 (C) enhances energy efficiency for build- 13 ings and industry, including combined heat and 14 power; 15 (D) enables the development of a Smart 16 Grid (as described in section 1301 of the En- 17 ergy Independence and Security Act of 2007 18 (42 U.S.C. 17381)), including integration of re- 19 newable energy sources and distributed genera- 20 tion, demand response, demand side manage- 21 ment, and systems analysis; 22 (E) produces an advanced or sustainable 23 material with energy or energy efficiency appli- 24 cations; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Jun 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2835.IH H2835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2835 IH (F) improves energy efficiency for trans- 1 portation, including electric vehicles; or 2 (G) enhances water security through im- 3 proved water management, conservation, dis- 4 tribution, or end use applications. 5 (2) ADVANCED MANUFACTURING.—The term 6 ‘‘advanced manufacturing’’— 7 (A) means a manufacturing process that 8 makes extensive use of computer, high preci- 9 sion, or information technologies integrated 10 with a high performance workforce in a produc- 11 tion system capable of furnishing a hetero- 12 geneous mix of products in small or large vol- 13 umes with either the efficiency of mass produc- 14 tion or the flexibility of custom manufacturing 15 in order to respond quickly to customer de- 16 mands; and 17 (B) includes both new ways to manufac- 18 ture existing products and the manufacture of 19 new products emerging from new advanced 20 technologies. 21 (3) CLUSTER.—The term ‘‘cluster’’ means a 22 network of entities directly involved in the research, 23 development, finance, and commercial application of 24 clean technologies and advanced manufacturing 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Jun 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2835.IH H2835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2835 IH whose geographic proximity facilitates the use and 1 sharing of skilled human resources, infrastructure, 2 research facilities, educational and training institu- 3 tions, venture capital, and input suppliers. 4 (4) CONSORTIUM.—The term ‘‘consortium’’ 5 means a clean technology consortium established in 6 accordance with this Act. 7 (5) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means an 8 activity with respect to which a consortium provides 9 support under this Act. 10 (6) QUALIFYING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘quali- 11 fying entity’’ means— 12 (A) an institution of higher education that 13 has entered into a partnership agreement with 14 a private-sector entity; 15 (B) a Federal or State entity with a focus 16 on developing clean technologies or clusters, as 17 determined by the Secretary; 18 (C) a nongovernmental organization with 19 expertise in translational research, clean tech- 20 nology, or cluster development; or 21 (D) any other entity determined appro- 22 priate by the Secretary. 23 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 24 the Secretary of Commerce. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Jun 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2835.IH H2835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2835 IH (8) TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH.—The term 1 ‘‘translational research’’ means the coordination of 2 basic or applied research with technical applications 3 to enable promising discoveries or inventions to 4 achieve commercial application. 5 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF CLEAN TECHNOLOGY CON- 6 SORTIA PROGRAM. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish and 8 carry out a program to establish clean technology con- 9 sortia to enhance the economic, environmental, and energy 10 security of the United States by promoting domestic devel- 11 opment, manufacture, and deployment of clean, state-of- 12 the-art technologies. 13 (b) PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall carry out the 14 program established under subsection (a) by leveraging 15 the expertise and resources of private research commu- 16 nities, institutions of higher education, industry, venture 17 capital, National Laboratories (as defined in section 2 of 18 the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801)), and 19 other participants in technology innovation— 20 (1) to support collaborative, cross-disciplinary 21 research and development in clean technologies and 22 advanced manufacturing; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Jun 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2835.IH H2835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2835 IH (2) to develop and accelerate the commercial 1 application of innovative clean technologies and ad- 2 vanced manufacturing practices. 3 (c) ROLE OF THE SECRETARY.—The Secretary 4 shall— 5 (1) carry out and oversee all aspects of the pro- 6 gram established under subsection (a); 7 (2) select recipients of grants for the establish- 8 ment and operation of consortia through a competi- 9 tive selection process; and 10 (3) coordinate the innovation activities of con- 11 sortia with activities carried out by the Secretary of 12 Energy, the Secretary of Defense, other Federal 13 agency heads, industry, and institutions of higher 14 education, including by annually— 15 (A) issuing guidance regarding national 16 clean technology and advanced manufacturing 17 development priorities and strategic objectives; 18 and 19 (B) convening a conference relating to 20 clean technology and advanced manufacturing, 21 which shall bring together representatives of 22 Federal agencies, industry, institutions of high- 23 er education, and other entities to share re- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Jun 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2835.IH H2835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2835 IH search and commercialization results, program 1 plans, and opportunities for collaboration. 2 (d) PURPOSES OF CONSORTIA.—The purposes of the 3 consortia shall include— 4 (1) promoting new innovative clean technologies 5 that have demonstrated interest and potential for 6 commercialization; 7 (2) expanding advanced manufacturing capabili- 8 ties, networks, supply chains, and assets, in the area 9 of clean technologies, that contribute to regional and 10 national manufacturing competitiveness and poten- 11 tial for growth; 12 (3) promoting job creation and entrepreneur- 13 ship through the establishment of new companies, 14 the expansion of existing companies, and commer- 15 cialization of clean technologies; 16 (4) providing technical or financial assistance to 17 companies looking to invest in clean technologies, 18 new products or services, or enhanced processes that 19 will grow sales and jobs; 20 (5) determining opportunities and challenges 21 that companies are facing and how to improve their 22 use or production of clean technologies; 23 (6) assisting individual small- and medium-sized 24 enterprises with adopting and utilizing new clean 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Jun 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2835.IH H2835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2835 IH technologies and related business and advanced 1 manufacturing practices; 2 (7) accelerating investment in and deployment 3 of clean technologies through public-private partner- 4 ships; 5 (8) encouraging partnering between and among 6 emerging and established clean technology and ad- 7 vanced manufacturing enterprises; or 8 (9) demonstrating a comprehensive and success- 9 ful model for commercialization of clean technologies 10 for promotion and emulation. 11 SEC. 4. APPLICATIONS. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant under this Act, 13 a consortium shall submit to the Secretary an application 14 in such manner, at such time, and containing such infor- 15 mation as the Secretary determines to be necessary. 16 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—A consortium shall be eligible to 17 receive a grant under this Act if— 18 (1) the consortium consists of— 19 (A) one or more research universities that 20 can demonstrate a significant annual clean 21 technology research budget, entrepreneurial 22 support programs, and technology licensing ex- 23 pertise; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Jun 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2835.IH H2835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2835 IH (B) a total of three or more qualifying en- 1 tities that can demonstrate expertise in 2 translational research, clean technology, and 3 cluster development; 4 (2) the members of the consortium have estab- 5 lished a binding agreement that documents— 6 (A) the structure of the partnership agree- 7 ment; 8 (B) a governance and management struc- 9 ture that enables cost-effective implementation 10 of the program; 11 (C) a conflicts-of-interest policy, including 12 procedures, consistent with those of the Depart- 13 ment of Commerce, to ensure that employees 14 and designees for consortium activities who are 15 in decision-making capacities disclose all mate- 16 rial conflicts of interest, including financial, or- 17 ganizational, and personal conflicts of interest; 18 (D) an accounting structure that meets the 19 requirements of the Secretary and that may be 20 audited under this Act; and 21 (E) the existence of an external advisory 22 committee; 23 (3) the consortium receives funding from non- 24 Federal sources, such as a State and participants of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Jun 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2835.IH H2835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2835 IH the consortium, that may be used to support 1 projects; 2 (4) the consortium is part of an existing cluster 3 or demonstrates high potential to develop a new 4 cluster; and 5 (5) the consortium operates as a nonprofit or- 6 ganization or as a public-private partnership under 7 an operating agreement led by a nonprofit organiza- 8 tion. 9 (c) DISQUALIFICATION.—The Secretary may dis- 10 qualify an application from a consortium under this Act 11 if the Secretary determines that the conflicts-of-interest 12 policy of the consortium is inadequate. 13 (d) EXTERNAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 15 grant under this Act, a consortium shall establish an 16 external advisory committee, the members of which 17 shall have extensive and relevant scientific, technical, 18 industry, financial, or research management exper- 19 tise. 20 (2) DUTIES.—An external advisory committee 21 shall— 22 (A) review the proposed plans, programs, 23 project selection criteria, and projects of the 24 consortium; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Jun 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2835.IH H2835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2835 IH (B) ensure that projects selected by the 1 consortium meet the applicable conflicts-of-in- 2 terest policy of the consortium. 3 (3) MEMBERS.—An external advisory com- 4 mittee shall consist of— 5 (A) representatives of the members of the 6 consortium; and 7 (B) such representatives of industry, in- 8 cluding entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, 9 as the members of the consortium determine to 10 be necessary. 11 (4) SECRETARY AS MEMBER.—The Secretary 12 shall join the external advisory committee of a con- 13 sortium that receives a grant under this Act. 14 SEC. 5. GRANTS. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award grants, 16 on a competitive basis— 17 (1) not later than 2 years after the date of en- 18 actment of this Act, to at least 1 consortium; and 19 (2) not later than 10 years after such date of 20 enactment, to not fewer than 6 consortia. 21 (b) TERMS.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The initial term of a grant 23 awarded under this Act shall not exceed 5 years. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Jun 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2835.IH H2835 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2835 IH (2) EXTENSION.—The Secretary may extend 1 the term of a grant awarded under this Act for a 2 period of not more than 5 additional years. 3 (c) AMOUNTS.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—A grant awarded to a con- 5 sortium under this Act shall not exceed the lesser 6 of— 7 (A) $30,000,000 per fiscal year; or 8 (B) the collective contributions of non-Fed- 9 eral entities to the consortium, as described 10 under section 4(b)(3). 11 (2) FLEXIBILITY.—In determining the amount 12 of a grant under this section, the Secretary shall 13 consider— 14 (A) the translational research capacity of 15 the consortium; 16 (B) the financial, human, and facility re- 17 sources of the qualifying entities; and 18 (C) the cluster of which the consortium is 19 a part. 20 (3) INCREASES IN AMOUNTS.—Subject to para- 21 graph (1), a consortium may request an increase in 22 the amount of a grant awarded under this Act at the 23 time the consortium requests an extension of an ini- 24 tial grant. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Jun 07, 2 [Text truncated for display. 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