Battery and Critical Mineral Recycling Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1918 To support the reuse and recycling of batteries and critical minerals, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 27, 2021 Mr. KING (for himself, Mr. BURR, and Ms. CORTEZ MASTO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on En- ergy and Natural Resources A BILL To support the reuse and recycling of batteries and critical minerals, 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 ‘‘Battery and Critical 4 Mineral Recycling Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 8 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ- 9 mental Protection Agency. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1918.IS S1918 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1918 IS (2) BATTERY.—The term ‘‘battery’’ means a 1 device that— 2 (A) consists of 1 or more electrochemical 3 cells that are electrically connected; and 4 (B) is designed to store and deliver electric 5 energy. 6 (3) BATTERY PRODUCER.—The term ‘‘battery 7 producer’’ means, with respect to a covered battery 8 or covered battery-containing product that is sold, 9 offered for sale, or distributed for sale in the United 10 States, including through retail, wholesale, business- 11 to-business, and online sale, the following applicable 12 entity: 13 (A) A person who— 14 (i) manufactures the covered battery 15 or covered battery-containing product; and 16 (ii) sells or offers for sale the covered 17 battery or covered battery-containing prod- 18 uct under the brand of that person. 19 (B) If there is no person described in sub- 20 paragraph (A) with respect to the covered bat- 21 tery or covered battery-containing product, the 22 owner or licensee of the brand under which the 23 covered battery or covered battery-containing 24 product is sold, offered for sale, or distributed, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1918.IS S1918 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1918 IS regardless of whether the trademark of the 1 brand is registered. 2 (C) If there is no person described in sub- 3 paragraph (A) or (B) with respect to the cov- 4 ered battery or covered battery-containing prod- 5 uct, a person that imports the covered battery 6 or covered battery-containing product into the 7 United States for sale or distribution. 8 (4) COVERED BATTERY.—The term ‘‘covered 9 battery’’ means a new or unused primary battery or 10 rechargeable battery. 11 (5) COVERED BATTERY-CONTAINING PROD- 12 UCT.—The term ‘‘covered battery-containing prod- 13 uct’’ means a new or unused product that contains 14 or is packaged with a primary battery or recharge- 15 able battery. 16 (6) PRIMARY BATTERY.—The term ‘‘primary 17 battery’’ means a nonrechargeable battery that 18 weighs not more than 4.4 pounds, including an alka- 19 line, carbon-zinc, and lithium metal battery. 20 (7) RECHARGEABLE BATTERY.— 21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘recharge- 22 able battery’’ means a battery that— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1918.IS S1918 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1918 IS (i) contains 1 or more voltaic or gal- 1 vanic cells that are electrically connected to 2 produce electric energy; 3 (ii) is designed to be recharged; 4 (iii) weighs not more than 11 pounds; 5 and 6 (iv) has a watt-hour rating of not 7 more than 300 watt-hours. 8 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘recharge- 9 able battery’’ does not include a battery that— 10 (i) contains electrolyte as a free liquid; 11 or 12 (ii) employs lead-acid technology, un- 13 less that battery is sealed and does not 14 contain electrolyte as a free liquid. 15 (8) RECYCLING.—The term ‘‘recycling’’ means 16 the series of activities, including separation, collec- 17 tion, and processing, through which materials are re- 18 covered or otherwise diverted from the solid waste 19 stream— 20 (A) unrelated to the manufacturing of bat- 21 teries; and 22 (B) for use— 23 (i) as raw materials; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1918.IS S1918 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1918 IS (ii) in the manufacture of products 1 other than fuel. 2 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 3 the Secretary of Energy. 4 SEC. 3. GRANTS. 5 (a) BATTERY RECYCLING RESEARCH, DEVELOP- 6 MENT, AND DEMONSTRATION GRANTS.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 8 multiyear grants to eligible entities for research, de- 9 velopment, and demonstration projects to create in- 10 novative and practical approaches to increase the 11 reuse and recycling of batteries, including by ad- 12 dressing— 13 (A) recycling activities; 14 (B) the development of methods to pro- 15 mote the design and production of batteries 16 that take into full account and facilitate the 17 dismantling, reuse, recovery, and recycling of 18 battery components and materials; 19 (C) strategies to increase consumer accept- 20 ance of, and participation in, the recycling of 21 batteries; 22 (D) the integration of increased quantities 23 of recycled critical minerals in batteries and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1918.IS S1918 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1918 IS other products to develop markets for recycled 1 battery materials and critical minerals; 2 (E) safe disposal of waste materials and 3 components recovered during the recycling proc- 4 ess; 5 (F) the protection of the health and safety 6 of all persons involved in, or in proximity to, re- 7 cycling and reprocessing activities; 8 (G) mitigation of environmental impacts 9 that arise from recycling batteries, including 10 disposal of toxic reagents and byproducts re- 11 lated to recycling processes; 12 (H) protection of data privacy associated 13 with collected covered battery-containing prod- 14 ucts; 15 (I) the optimization of the value of mate- 16 rial derived from recycling batteries; and 17 (J) the cost-effectiveness of the reuse and 18 recycling of batteries. 19 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The Secretary may 20 award a grant under paragraph (1) to— 21 (A) an institution of higher education; 22 (B) a National Laboratory; 23 (C) a Federal research agency; 24 (D) a State research agency; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1918.IS S1918 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1918 IS (E) a nonprofit organization; 1 (F) an industrial entity; 2 (G) a manufacturing entity; 3 (H) a private battery-collection entity; 4 (I) an entity operating 1 or more battery 5 recycling activities; 6 (J) a State or municipal government enti- 7 ty; 8 (K) a battery producer; 9 (L) a battery retailer; or 10 (M) a consortium of 2 or more entities de- 11 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (L). 12 (3) APPLICATIONS.— 13 (A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive 14 a grant under paragraph (1), an eligible entity 15 described in paragraph (2) shall submit to the 16 Secretary an application at such time, in such 17 manner, and containing such information as the 18 Secretary may require. 19 (B) CONTENTS.—An application submitted 20 under subparagraph (A) shall describe how the 21 project will promote collaboration among— 22 (i) battery producers and manufactur- 23 ers; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1918.IS S1918 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1918 IS (ii) battery material and equipment 1 manufacturers; 2 (iii) battery recyclers, collectors, and 3 refiners; and 4 (iv) retailers. 5 (b) STATE AND LOCAL PROGRAMS.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 7 a program under which the Secretary shall award 8 grants, on a competitive basis, to States and units 9 of local government to assist in the establishment or 10 enhancement of State battery collection, recycling, 11 and reprocessing programs. 12 (2) NON-FEDERAL COST SHARE.—The non- 13 Federal share of the cost of a project carried out 14 using a grant under this subsection shall be 50 per- 15 cent of the cost of the project. 16 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 17 date of enactment of this Act, and annually there- 18 after, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a re- 19 port that describes the number of battery collection 20 points established or enhanced, an estimate of jobs 21 created, and the quantity of material collected as a 22 result of the grants awarded under paragraph (1). 23 (c) RETAILERS AS COLLECTION POINTS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1918.IS S1918 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1918 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 1 grants, on a competitive basis, to retailers that sell 2 covered batteries or covered battery-containing prod- 3 ucts to establish and implement a system for the ac- 4 ceptance and collection of covered batteries and cov- 5 ered battery-containing products, as applicable, for 6 reuse, recycling, or proper disposal. 7 (2) COLLECTION SYSTEM.—A system described 8 in paragraph (1) shall include take-back of covered 9 batteries— 10 (A) at no cost to the consumer; and 11 (B) on a regular, convenient, and acces- 12 sible basis. 13 SEC. 4. LITHIUM-ION BATTERY RECYCLING PRIZE COM- 14 PETITION. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall continue to 16 carry out the existing Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling 17 Prize competition of the Department of Energy estab- 18 lished under section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Tech- 19 nology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719). 20 (b) ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR PILOT PROJECTS.— 21 In addition to any other funds made available to the Sec- 22 retary to carry out the competition described in subsection 23 (a), there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 24 to carry out Phase III of that competition $10,000,000 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1918.IS S1918 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1918 IS for fiscal year 2021, to remain available until expended, 1 which the Secretary may use— 2 (1) to increase the number of winners of Phase 3 III of that competition; 4 (2) to increase the amount awarded to the win- 5 ners of Phase III of that competition; or 6 (3) to carry out any other activity that is con- 7 sistent with the goals of Phase III of that competi- 8 tion, as determined by the Secretary. 9 SEC. 5. BEST PRACTICES FOR COLLECTION OF BATTERIES 10 TO BE RECYCLED. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall develop 12 voluntary best practices that may be implemented by State 13 and local governments with respect to the collection of bat- 14 teries to be recycled in a manner that— 15 (1) to the maximum extent practicable, is tech- 16 nically and economically feasible for State and local 17 governments; 18 (2) is environmentally sound and safe for waste 19 management workers; and 20 (3) optimizes the value and use of material de- 21 rived from recycling of batteries. 22 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Administrator shall de- 23 velop the voluntary best practices described in subsection 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1918.IS S1918 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1918 IS (a) in coordination with State and local leaders and enti- 1 ties in relevant private sectors. 2 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 3 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 4 to Congress a report describing the voluntary best prac- 5 tices developed under subsection (a). 6 SEC. 6. VOLUNTARY LABELING GUIDELINES. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established within the 8 Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection 9 Agency a voluntary program (referred to in this section 10 as the ‘‘program’’) to promote battery recycling through 11 the development of— 12 (1) voluntary labeling guidelines for batteries; 13 and 14 (2) other forms of voluntary communication 15 about the reuse and recycling of critical materials 16 from batteries. 17 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program are to 18 improve battery collection and reduce battery waste, in- 19 cluding by— 20 (1) identifying battery collection locations and 21 increasing accessibility to those locations; 22 (2) promoting consumer education about bat- 23 tery collection and recycling; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1918.IS S1918 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1918 IS (3) reducing safety concerns relating to the im- 1 proper disposal of batteries. 2 (c) DIVISION OF RESPONSIBILITIES.—Implementa- 3 tion responsibilities under the program shall be divided be- 4 tween the Secretary and the Administrator in accordance 5 with the terms of 1 or more applicable agreements between 6 the Secretary and the Administrator. 7 (d) OTHER STANDARDS AND LAW.—The Secretary 8 and the Administrator shall make every reasonable effort 9 to ensure that voluntary labeling guidelines and other 10 forms of communication developed under the program are 11 consistent with— 12 (1) international battery labeling standards; 13 and 14 (2) the Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable 15 Battery Management Act (42 U.S.C. 14301 et seq.). 16 SEC. 7. TASK FORCE ON PRODUCER REQUIREMENTS. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall convene a 18 task force to develop an extended battery producer respon- 19 sibility framework that— 20 (1) addresses battery recycling goals, cost struc- 21 tures for mandatory recycling, reporting require- 22 ments, product design, collection models, and trans- 23 portation of collected materials; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1918.IS S1918 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1918 IS (2) provides sufficient flexibility to allow battery 1 producers to determine cost-effective strategies for 2 compliance with the framework; and 3 (3) outlines regulatory pathways for effective 4 recycling. 5 (b) TASK FORCE MEMBERS.—Members of the task 6 force convened under subsection (a) shall include— 7 (1) battery producers, manufacturers, retailers, 8 recyclers, collectors, and refiners; 9 (2) States and municipalities; and 10 (3) other relevant stakeholders, such as envi- 11 ronmental, clean energy, or consumer advocates, as 12 determined by the [Text truncated for display. 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