What This Bill Does
This bill creates a new federal program called the "Hydrogen Technologies for Heavy Industry Demonstration Program" under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The program will provide grants and cooperative agreements (a type of partnership between government and organizations) to demonstrate how hydrogen can be used in heavy industries like steel, cement, and chemical manufacturing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (gases that trap heat in the atmosphere).
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Who It Affects
- Companies in heavy industries including iron and steel manufacturing, cement production, glass manufacturing, fertilizer production, food processing, fuel refining, and chemical manufacturing
- The Secretary of Energy (the federal official in charge of energy policy)
- Low-income and disadvantaged communities near industrial facilities
- The Secretaries of Commerce and Transportation (who must participate in a required study)
- Congress (which receives a study report)
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Key Provisions
- The Secretary of Energy must establish the program within 180 days after the bill becomes law and can award grants or cooperative agreements of up to $400,000,000 per project to demonstrate hydrogen use in heavy industry (Sec. 2(d)(2))
- Applicants must show how their projects will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide at least 50 percent of the project's funding themselves through non-federal sources (Sec. 2(d)(7))
- Projects that benefit low-income or disadvantaged communities, create or retain jobs, and use at least 50 percent hydrogen blends by volume will receive priority consideration (Sec. 2(d)(4)(C))
- Demonstration projects must use technologies already tested at smaller scales, monitor hydrogen leakage, and conduct leak detection and repair programs (Sec. 2(d)(6))
- Three federal departments must jointly conduct a study examining hydrogen's potential to reduce emissions at industrial facilities, safety challenges, and best practices for handling hydrogen and hydrogen carriers, and submit results to Congress within 270 days of enactment (Sec. 3)
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What Changes
If this bill becomes law, the federal government creates a new grant program specifically for helping heavy industries switch to or test hydrogen technology. The bill also adds a new section (Section 969E) to the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Additionally, three federal departments must study hydrogen's industrial use and report their findings to Congress.
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Important Definitions
The bill defines "low-income or disadvantaged community" as any city, town, county, or clearly separated part of a larger city where the yearly income earned by the typical family is less than 100 percent of the average yearly income for that state, based on the most recent 10-year government census.
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 646
To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to establish a Hydrogen Tech-
nologies for Heavy Industry Demonstration Program, and for other pur-
poses.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 2, 2023
Mr. COONS (for himself, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr.
HEINRICH, and Mr. LUJA´N) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
A BILL
To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to establish a
Hydrogen Technologies for Heavy Industry Demonstra-
tion Program, 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 ‘‘Hydrogen for Industry
4
Act of 2023’’.
5
SEC. 2. HYDROGEN TECHNOLOGIES FOR HEAVY INDUSTRY
6
DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.
7
(a) EMISSION REDUCTION PROGRAM.—Subtitle F of
8
title IX of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C.
9
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16291 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
1
lowing:
2
‘‘SEC. 969E. HYDROGEN TECHNOLOGIES FOR HEAVY INDUS-
3
TRY DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.
4
‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF LOW-INCOME OR DISADVAN-
5
TAGED COMMUNITY.—The term ‘low-income or disadvan-
6
taged community’ means a community (including a city,
7
town, county, or reasonably isolated and divisible segment
8
of a larger municipality) with an annual median household
9
income that is less than 100 percent of the statewide an-
10
nual median household income for the State in which the
11
community is located, according to the most recent decen-
12
nial census.
13
‘‘(b) PROGRAM.—Not later than 180 days after the
14
date of enactment of the Hydrogen for Industry Act of
15
2023, the Secretary shall establish a program, to be
16
known as the ‘Hydrogen Technologies for Heavy Industry
17
Demonstration Program’ (referred to in this section as the
18
‘Program’), under which the Secretary shall provide
19
grants or cooperative agreements to demonstrate indus-
20
trial end-use applications of hydrogen for—
21
‘‘(1) iron, steel, and metals manufacturing;
22
‘‘(2) cement manufacturing;
23
‘‘(3) glass manufacturing;
24
‘‘(4) ammonia and fertilizer production;
25
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•S 646 IS
‘‘(5) industrial food processes;
1
‘‘(6) production of synthetic fuels from hydro-
2
gen, such as with carbon oxides;
3
‘‘(7) fuel refining, such as biorefining;
4
‘‘(8) chemical synthesis, such as synthesis of
5
methanol and ethylene;
6
‘‘(9) process heaters, including hydrogen com-
7
bustion with environmental controls;
8
‘‘(10) cogeneration to make electricity or heat
9
to support industrial processes; or
10
‘‘(11) any other use of hydrogen for heavy in-
11
dustry, as determined by the Secretary.
12
‘‘(c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Program is to
13
support the adoption of hydrogen as an emissions reduc-
14
tion technology for heavy industry, including in applica-
15
tions where hydrogen is blended with other fuels or feed-
16
stocks.
17
‘‘(d) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS AND OTHER AU-
18
THORIZED PROJECTS.—
19
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide
20
grants or cooperative agreements on a competitive
21
basis for commercial-scale demonstration projects
22
for end-use applications of hydrogen and other au-
23
thorized projects, as described in paragraph (5).
24
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‘‘(2) AMOUNT
OF
GRANT
OR
COOPERATIVE
1
AGREEMENT.—The amount of a grant or cooperative
2
agreement provided to an eligible entity under this
3
subsection shall be not more than $400,000,000.
4
‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—An entity seeking a grant
5
or cooperative agreement to conduct a demonstra-
6
tion project or other authorized project under this
7
subsection shall submit to the Secretary an applica-
8
tion at such time, in such manner, and containing
9
such information as the Secretary may require, in-
10
cluding a description of the manner in which the
11
project—
12
‘‘(A) will contribute to the reduction of
13
greenhouse gas emissions at the applicable facil-
14
ity; and
15
‘‘(B) in the case of a project for industrial
16
end-use application that already uses hydrogen
17
at scale, will reduce or avoid emissions of green-
18
house gases.
19
‘‘(4) SELECTION.—
20
‘‘(A) CONSIDERATIONS.—In providing a
21
grant or cooperative agreement under this sub-
22
section, the Secretary shall review each appli-
23
cant and application under paragraph (3) with
24
respect to—
25
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‘‘(i) the financial strength of the ap-
1
plicant;
2
‘‘(ii) the proposed construction sched-
3
ule;
4
‘‘(iii) the market risk of the tech-
5
nology that the applicant seeks to dem-
6
onstrate, as applicable; and
7
‘‘(iv) the contractor history of the ap-
8
plicant.
9
‘‘(B) PRIORITY.—In providing a grant or
10
cooperative agreement under this subsection,
11
the Secretary shall give priority to projects that
12
will provide greater net impact in avoiding or
13
reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.
14
‘‘(C) OTHER
CONSIDERATIONS.—In pro-
15
viding a grant or cooperative agreement under
16
this subsection, the Secretary shall, to the max-
17
imum extent practicable, provide a grant or co-
18
operative agreement for projects that—
19
‘‘(i) represent a variety of end uses of
20
hydrogen;
21
‘‘(ii) will use at least 50 percent hy-
22
drogen blends by volume;
23
‘‘(iii) demonstrate existing or planned
24
regional availability of hydrogen;
25
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‘‘(iv) will generate the greatest benefit
1
to low-income or disadvantaged commu-
2
nities; and
3
‘‘(v) will maximize creation or reten-
4
tion of domestic jobs and provide the high-
5
est job quality.
6
‘‘(5) AUTHORIZED PROJECTS.—A grant or co-
7
operative agreement provided under this subsection
8
may be used—
9
‘‘(A) to carry out demonstration projects
10
for end uses of hydrogen;
11
‘‘(B) to construct a new commercial-scale
12
facility that will use hydrogen as a fuel or feed-
13
stock; or
14
‘‘(C) to retool, retrofit, or expand an exist-
15
ing facility determined to be qualified by the
16
Secretary to enable use of hydrogen as a fuel or
17
feedstock in industrial end-use applications of
18
hydrogen, including at multiple points within a
19
larger facility.
20
‘‘(6) REQUIREMENTS.—A demonstration project
21
receiving a grant or cooperative agreement under
22
this subsection shall—
23
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‘‘(A) use technologies that have completed
1
pilot-scale testing or the equivalent, as deter-
2
mined by the Secretary;
3
‘‘(B) on completion, demonstrate hydrogen
4
technologies used by heavy industry; and
5
‘‘(C) conduct hydrogen leakage monitoring,
6
reporting, and verification programs and leak
7
detection and repair programs.
8
‘‘(7) COST SHARING.—The non-Federal share
9
of the cost of a demonstration project carried out
10
using a grant or cooperative agreement under this
11
subsection shall be not less than 50 percent.
12
‘‘(8) ENGINEERING
AND
DESIGN
STUDIES.—
13
The Secretary may fund front-end engineering and
14
design studies in addition to, or in advance of, pro-
15
viding a grant or cooperative agreement for a dem-
16
onstration project or other authorized project under
17
this subsection.
18
‘‘(e) APPLICABILITY.—No technology, or level of
19
emission reduction, shall be treated as adequately dem-
20
onstrated for purposes of section 111 of the Clean Air Act
21
(42 U.S.C. 7411), achievable for purposes of best available
22
control technologies (as defined in section 169 of that Act
23
(42 U.S.C. 7479)), or achievable in practice for purposes
24
of the terms defined in section 171 of that Act (42 U.S.C.
25
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7501) solely by reason of the identification of that tech-
1
nology or level of emission reduction in programs estab-
2
lished under this Act.
3
‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
4
is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry
5
out the Program $1,200,000,000 for the period of fiscal
6
years 2024 through 2028, to remain available until ex-
7
pended.’’.
8
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents
9
of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58;
10
119 Stat. 600) is amended by inserting after the item re-
11
lating to section 969D the following:
12
‘‘Sec. 969E. Hydrogen Technologies for Heavy Industry Demonstration Pro-
gram.’’.
SEC. 3. STUDY.
13
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days after the
14
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy,
15
the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Trans-
16
portation shall jointly conduct and submit to Congress a
17
report describing the results of a study—
18
(1) to examine the potential for emissions re-
19
ductions at industrial facilities through hydrogen ap-
20
plications, including—
21
(A) the potential use of levelized cost of
22
carbon abatement, or a similar metric, in ana-
23
lyzing industrial uses of hydrogen; and
24
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•S 646 IS
(B) the feasibility and impact of incor-
1
porating levelized cost of carbon abatement to
2
compare the costs of technology options to re-
3
duce emissions across a range of industrial ap-
4
plications;
5
(2) to fully address existing challenges with re-
6
spect to ensuring the safe use and handling of hy-
7
drogen and hydrogen-based fuels and blends in in-
8
dustrial systems, including health and environmental
9
impacts associated with the leakage of hydrogen and
10
hydrogen carriers;
11
(3) to identify and evaluate the feasibility, safe-
12
ty, and best practices of the use of hydrogen and
13
ammonia as industrial fuel and feedstock, including
14
ways that current procedures, training, and handoffs
15
with supply chain partners should be augmented to
16
ensure safety for workers and neighboring commu-
17
nities;
18
(4) to examine the feasibility of blending in-
19
creasing levels of hydrogen with natural gas to sup-
20
plement process heat requirements;
21
(5) to examine the environmental impacts of
22
hydrogen combustion in hydrogen-fueled gas tur-
23
bines as pure hydrogen or at different ratios if used
24
in blended fuel; and
25
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(6) to identify and evaluate considerations for
1
transport and storage of hydrogen and hydrogen
2
carriers for use at industrial facilities.
3
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—In conducting the study under
4
subsection (a), the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary
5
of Commerce shall—
6
(1) take into account lessons learned from dem-
7
onstration projects in other industries and projects
8
in other countries; and
9
(2) evaluate the applicability of the lessons de-
10
scribed in paragraph (1) to the use of hydrogen in
11
industrial applications.
12
Æ
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