Vehicle Innovation Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2170 To support research, development, and other activities to develop innovative vehicle technologies, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 9, 2019 Mrs. DINGELL (for herself and Ms. STEVENS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To support research, development, and other activities to develop innovative vehicle technologies, and for other pur- poses. 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 ‘‘Vehicle Innovation Act 4 of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2170.IH H2170 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2170 IH (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 1 means the Department of Energy. 2 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 3 the Secretary of Energy. 4 SEC. 3. OBJECTIVES. 5 The objectives of this Act are— 6 (1) to establish a consistent and consolidated 7 authority for the vehicle technology program at the 8 Department; 9 (2) to develop United States technologies and 10 practices that— 11 (A) improve the fuel efficiency and emis- 12 sions of all vehicles produced in the United 13 States; and 14 (B) reduce vehicle reliance on petroleum- 15 based fuels; 16 (3) to support domestic research, development, 17 engineering, demonstration, and commercial applica- 18 tion and manufacturing of advanced vehicles, en- 19 gines, and components; 20 (4) to enable vehicles to move larger volumes of 21 goods and more passengers with less energy and 22 emissions; 23 (5) to develop cost-effective advanced tech- 24 nologies for wide-scale utilization throughout the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2170.IH H2170 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2170 IH passenger, commercial, government, and transit ve- 1 hicle sectors; 2 (6) to allow for greater consumer choice of vehi- 3 cle technologies and fuels; 4 (7) shorten technology development and inte- 5 gration cycles in the vehicle industry; 6 (8) to ensure a proper balance and diversity of 7 Federal investment in vehicle technologies; and 8 (9) to strengthen partnerships between Federal 9 and State governmental agencies and the private 10 and academic sectors. 11 SEC. 4. COORDINATION AND NONDUPLICATION. 12 The Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum extent 13 practicable, that the activities authorized by this Act do 14 not duplicate those of other programs within the Depart- 15 ment or other relevant research agencies. 16 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 17 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec- 18 retary for research, development, engineering, demonstra- 19 tion, and commercial application of vehicles and related 20 technologies in the United States, including activities au- 21 thorized under this Act— 22 (1) for fiscal year 2020, $313,567,000; 23 (2) for fiscal year 2021, $326,109,000; 24 (3) for fiscal year 2022, $339,154,000; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2170.IH H2170 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2170 IH (4) for fiscal year 2023, $352,720,000; and 1 (5) for fiscal year 2024, $366,829,000. 2 SEC. 6. REPORTING. 3 (a) TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPED.—Not later than 18 4 months after the date of enactment of this Act and annu- 5 ally thereafter through 2024, the Secretary shall submit 6 to Congress a report regarding the technologies developed 7 as a result of the activities authorized by this Act, with 8 a particular emphasis on whether the technologies were 9 successfully adopted for commercial applications, and if 10 so, whether products relying on those technologies are 11 manufactured in the United States. 12 (b) ADDITIONAL MATTERS.—At the end of each fis- 13 cal year through 2024, the Secretary shall submit to the 14 relevant Congressional committees of jurisdiction an an- 15 nual report describing activities undertaken in the pre- 16 vious year under this Act, active industry participants, the 17 status of public-private partnerships, progress of the pro- 18 gram in meeting goals and timelines, and a strategic plan 19 for funding of activities across agencies. 20 SEC. 7. VEHICLE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 21 (a) PROGRAM.— 22 (1) ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary shall conduct a 23 program of basic and applied research, development, 24 engineering, demonstration, and commercial applica- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2170.IH H2170 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2170 IH tion activities on materials, technologies, and proc- 1 esses with the potential to substantially reduce or 2 eliminate petroleum use and the emissions of the 3 passenger and commercial vehicles of the United 4 States, including activities in the areas of— 5 (A) electrification of vehicle systems; 6 (B) batteries, ultracapacitors, and other 7 energy storage devices; 8 (C) power electronics; 9 (D) vehicle, component, and subsystem 10 manufacturing technologies and processes; 11 (E) engine efficiency and combustion opti- 12 mization; 13 (F) waste heat recovery; 14 (G) transmission and drivetrains; 15 (H) hydrogen vehicle technologies, includ- 16 ing fuel cells and internal combustion engines, 17 and hydrogen infrastructure, including hydro- 18 gen energy storage to enable renewables and 19 provide hydrogen for fuel and power; 20 (I) natural gas vehicle technologies; 21 (J) aerodynamics, rolling resistance (in- 22 cluding tires and wheel assemblies), and acces- 23 sory power loads of vehicles and associated 24 equipment; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2170.IH H2170 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2170 IH (K) vehicle weight reduction, including 1 lightweighting materials and the development of 2 manufacturing processes to fabricate, assemble, 3 and use dissimilar materials; 4 (L) friction and wear reduction; 5 (M) engine and component durability; 6 (N) innovative propulsion systems; 7 (O) advanced boosting systems; 8 (P) hydraulic hybrid technologies; 9 (Q) engine compatibility with and optimi- 10 zation for a variety of transportation fuels in- 11 cluding natural gas and other liquid and gas- 12 eous fuels; 13 (R) predictive engineering, modeling, and 14 simulation of vehicle and transportation sys- 15 tems; 16 (S) refueling and charging infrastructure 17 for alternative fueled and electric or plug-in 18 electric hybrid vehicles, including the unique 19 challenges facing rural areas; 20 (T) gaseous fuels storage systems and sys- 21 tem integration and optimization; 22 (U) sensing, communications, and actu- 23 ation technologies for vehicle, electrical grid, 24 and infrastructure; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2170.IH H2170 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2170 IH (V) efficient use, substitution, and recy- 1 cling of potentially critical materials in vehicles, 2 including rare earth elements and precious met- 3 als, at risk of supply disruption; 4 (W) aftertreatment technologies; 5 (X) thermal management of battery sys- 6 tems; 7 (Y) retrofitting advanced vehicle tech- 8 nologies to existing vehicles; 9 (Z) development of common standards, 10 specifications, and architectures for both trans- 11 portation and stationary battery applications; 12 (AA) advanced internal combustion en- 13 gines; 14 (BB) mild hybrid; 15 (CC) engine down speeding; 16 (DD) vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-pedes- 17 trian, and vehicle-to-infrastructure technologies; 18 and 19 (EE) other research areas as determined 20 by the Secretary. 21 (2) TRANSFORMATIONAL TECHNOLOGY.—The 22 Secretary shall ensure that the Department con- 23 tinues to support research, development, engineer- 24 ing, demonstration, and commercial application ac- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2170.IH H2170 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2170 IH tivities and maintains competency in mid- to long- 1 term transformational vehicle technologies with po- 2 tential to achieve reductions in emissions, including 3 activities in the areas of— 4 (A) hydrogen vehicle technologies, includ- 5 ing fuel cells, hydrogen storage, infrastructure, 6 and activities in hydrogen technology validation 7 and safety codes and standards; 8 (B) multiple battery chemistries and novel 9 energy storage devices, including nonchemical 10 batteries and electromechanical storage tech- 11 nologies such as hydraulics, flywheels, and com- 12 pressed air storage; 13 (C) communication and connectivity among 14 vehicles, infrastructure, and the electrical grid; 15 and 16 (D) other innovative technologies research 17 and development, as determined by the Sec- 18 retary. 19 (3) INDUSTRY PARTICIPATION.— 20 (A) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum ex- 21 tent practicable, activities under this Act shall 22 be carried out in partnership or collaboration 23 with automotive manufacturers, heavy commer- 24 cial, vocational, and transit vehicle manufactur- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2170.IH H2170 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2170 IH ers, qualified plug-in electric vehicle manufac- 1 turers, compressed natural gas vehicle manufac- 2 turers, vehicle and engine equipment and com- 3 ponent manufacturers, manufacturing equip- 4 ment manufacturers, advanced vehicle service 5 providers, fuel producers and energy suppliers, 6 electric utilities, universities, national labora- 7 tories, and independent research laboratories. 8 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out this 9 Act, the Secretary shall— 10 (i) determine whether a wide range of 11 companies that manufacture or assemble 12 vehicles or components in the United 13 States are represented in ongoing public- 14 private partnership activities, including 15 firms that have not traditionally partici- 16 pated in federally sponsored research and 17 development activities, and where possible, 18 partner with such firms that conduct sig- 19 nificant and relevant research and develop- 20 ment activities in the United States; 21 (ii) leverage the capabilities and re- 22 sources of, and formalize partnerships 23 with, industry-led stakeholder organiza- 24 tions, nonprofit organizations, industry 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2170.IH H2170 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2170 IH consortia, and trade associations with ex- 1 pertise in the research and development of, 2 and education and outreach activities in, 3 advanced automotive and commercial vehi- 4 cle technologies; 5 (iii) develop more effective processes 6 for transferring research findings and tech- 7 nologies to industry; 8 (iv) support public-private partner- 9 ships, dedicated to overcoming barriers in 10 commercial application of transformational 11 vehicle technologies, that use such indus- 12 try-led technology development facilities of 13 entities with demonstrated expertise in 14 successfully designing and engineering pre- 15 commercial generations of such trans- 16 formational technology; and 17 (v) promote efforts to ensure that 18 technology research, development, engi- 19 neering, and commercial application activi- 20 ties funded under this Act are carried out 21 in the United States. 22 (4) INTERAGENCY AND INTRAAGENCY COORDI- 23 NATION.—To the maximum extent practicable, the 24 Secretary shall coordinate research, development, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2170.IH H2170 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2170 IH demonstration, and commercial application activities 1 among— 2 (A) relevant programs within the Depart- 3 ment, including— 4 (i) the Office of Energy Efficiency 5 and Renewable Energy; 6 (ii) the Office of Science; 7 (iii) the Office of Electricity Delivery 8 and Energy Reliability; 9 (iv) the Office of Fossil Energy; 10 (v) the Advanced Research Projects 11 Agency—Energy; and 12 (vi) other offices as determined by the 13 Secretary; and 14 (B) relevant technology research and devel- 15 opment programs within other Federal agen- 16 cies, as determined by the Secretary. 17 (5) FEDERAL DEMONSTRATION OF TECH- 18 NOLOGIES.—The Secretary shall make information 19 available to procurement programs of Federal agen- 20 cies regarding the potential to demonstrate tech- 21 nologies resulting from activities funded through 22 programs under this Act. 23 (6) INTERGOVERNMENTAL COORDINATION.— 24 The Secretary shall seek opportunities to leverage 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2170.IH H2170 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2170 IH resources and support initiatives of State and local 1 governments in developing and promoting advanced 2 vehicle technologies, manufacturing, and infrastruc- 3 ture. 4 (7) CRITERIA.—In awarding grants under the 5 program under this subsection, the Secretary shall 6 give priority to those technologies (either individually 7 or as part of a system) that— 8 (A) provide the greatest aggregate fuel 9 savings based on the reasonable projected sales 10 volumes of the technology; and 11 (B) provide the greatest increase in United 12 States employment. 13 (8) SECONDARY USE APPLICATIONS.— 14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 15 carry out a research, development, and dem- 16 onstration program that— 17 (i) builds on any work carried out 18 under section 915 of the Energy Policy Act 19 of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16195); 20 (ii) identifies possible uses of a vehicle 21 battery after the useful life of the battery 22 in a vehicle has been exhausted; 23 (iii) conducts long-term testing to 24 verify performance and degradation pre- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2170.IH H2170 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 2170 IH dictions and lifetime valuations for sec- 1 ondary uses; 2 (iv) evaluates innovative approaches to 3 recycling materials from plug-in electric 4 drive vehicles and the batteries u [Text truncated for display. 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