Consortia-Led Energy and Advanced Manufacturing Networks Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 3135 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 19, 2019 Mr. MARKEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 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 of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:00 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3135.IS S3135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3135 IS (1) CLEAN TECHNOLOGY.—The term ‘‘clean 1 technology’’ means a technology, production process, 2 or methodology that— 3 (A) produces energy from solar, wind, geo- 4 thermal, biomass, tidal, wave, ocean, or another 5 renewable energy source (as defined in section 6 609 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies 7 Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 918c)); 8 (B) more efficiently transmits, distributes, 9 or stores energy; 10 (C) enhances energy efficiency for build- 11 ings and industry, including combined heat and 12 power; 13 (D) enables the development of a Smart 14 Grid (as described in section 1301 of the En- 15 ergy Independence and Security Act of 2007 16 (42 U.S.C. 17381)), including integration of re- 17 newable energy sources and distributed genera- 18 tion, demand response, demand side manage- 19 ment, and systems analysis; 20 (E) produces an advanced or sustainable 21 material with energy or energy efficiency appli- 22 cations; 23 (F) improves energy efficiency for trans- 24 portation, including electric vehicles; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:00 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3135.IS S3135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3135 IS (G) enhances water security through im- 1 proved water management, conservation, dis- 2 tribution, or end use applications. 3 (2) ADVANCED MANUFACTURING.—The term 4 ‘‘advanced manufacturing’’— 5 (A) means a manufacturing process that 6 makes extensive use of computer, high preci- 7 sion, or information technologies integrated 8 with a high performance workforce in a produc- 9 tion system capable of furnishing a hetero- 10 geneous mix of products in small or large vol- 11 umes with either the efficiency of mass produc- 12 tion or the flexibility of custom manufacturing 13 in order to respond quickly to customer de- 14 mands; and 15 (B) includes both new ways to manufac- 16 ture existing products and the manufacture of 17 new products emerging from new advanced 18 technologies. 19 (3) CLUSTER.—The term ‘‘cluster’’ means a 20 network of entities directly involved in the research, 21 development, finance, and commercial application of 22 clean technologies and advanced manufacturing 23 whose geographic proximity facilitates the use and 24 sharing of skilled human resources, infrastructure, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:00 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3135.IS S3135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3135 IS research facilities, educational and training institu- 1 tions, venture capital, and input suppliers. 2 (4) CONSORTIUM.—The term ‘‘consortium’’ 3 means a clean technology consortium established in 4 accordance with this Act. 5 (5) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means an 6 activity with respect to which a consortium provides 7 support under this Act. 8 (6) QUALIFYING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘quali- 9 fying entity’’ means— 10 (A) an institution of higher education that 11 has entered into a partnership agreement with 12 a private-sector entity; 13 (B) a Federal or State entity with a focus 14 on developing clean technologies or clusters, as 15 determined by the Secretary; 16 (C) a nongovernmental organization with 17 expertise in translational research, clean tech- 18 nology, or cluster development; or 19 (D) any other entity determined appro- 20 priate by the Secretary. 21 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 22 the Secretary of Commerce. 23 (8) TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH.—The term 24 ‘‘translational research’’ means the coordination of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:00 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3135.IS S3135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3135 IS basic or applied research with technical applications 1 to enable promising discoveries or inventions to 2 achieve commercial application. 3 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF CLEAN TECHNOLOGY CON- 4 SORTIA PROGRAM. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish and 6 carry out a program to establish clean technology con- 7 sortia to enhance the economic, environmental, and energy 8 security of the United States by promoting domestic devel- 9 opment, manufacture, and deployment of clean, state-of- 10 the-art technologies. 11 (b) PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall carry out the 12 program established under subsection (a) by leveraging 13 the expertise and resources of private research commu- 14 nities, institutions of higher education, industry, venture 15 capital, National Laboratories (as defined in section 2 of 16 the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801)), and 17 other participants in technology innovation— 18 (1) to support collaborative, cross-disciplinary 19 research and development in clean technologies and 20 advanced manufacturing; and 21 (2) to develop and accelerate the commercial 22 application of innovative clean technologies and ad- 23 vanced manufacturing practices. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:00 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3135.IS S3135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3135 IS (c) ROLE OF THE SECRETARY.—The Secretary 1 shall— 2 (1) carry out and oversee all aspects of the pro- 3 gram established under subsection (a); 4 (2) select recipients of grants for the establish- 5 ment and operation of consortia through a competi- 6 tive selection process; and 7 (3) coordinate the innovation activities of con- 8 sortia with activities carried out by the Secretary of 9 Energy, the Secretary of Defense, other Federal 10 agency heads, industry, and institutions of higher 11 education, including by annually— 12 (A) issuing guidance regarding national 13 clean technology and advanced manufacturing 14 development priorities and strategic objectives; 15 and 16 (B) convening a conference relating to 17 clean technology and advanced manufacturing, 18 which shall bring together representatives of 19 Federal agencies, industry, institutions of high- 20 er education, and other entities to share re- 21 search and commercialization results, program 22 plans, and opportunities for collaboration. 23 (d) PURPOSES OF CONSORTIA.—The purposes of the 24 consortia shall include— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:00 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3135.IS S3135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3135 IS (1) promoting new innovative clean technologies 1 that have demonstrated interest and potential for 2 commercialization; 3 (2) expanding advanced manufacturing capabili- 4 ties, networks, supply chains, and assets, in the area 5 of clean technologies, that contribute to regional and 6 national manufacturing competitiveness and poten- 7 tial for growth; 8 (3) promoting job creation and entrepreneur- 9 ship through the establishment of new companies, 10 the expansion of existing companies, and commer- 11 cialization of clean technologies; 12 (4) providing technical or financial assistance to 13 companies looking to invest in clean technologies, 14 new products or services, or enhanced processes that 15 will grow sales and jobs; 16 (5) determining opportunities and challenges 17 that companies are facing and how to improve their 18 use or production of clean technologies; 19 (6) assisting individual small- and medium-sized 20 enterprises with adopting and utilizing new clean 21 technologies and related business and advanced 22 manufacturing practices; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:00 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3135.IS S3135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3135 IS (7) accelerating investment in and deployment 1 of clean technologies through public-private partner- 2 ships; 3 (8) encouraging partnering between and among 4 emerging and established clean technology and ad- 5 vanced manufacturing enterprises; or 6 (9) demonstrating a comprehensive and success- 7 ful model for commercialization of clean technologies 8 for promotion and emulation. 9 SEC. 4. APPLICATIONS. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant under this Act, 11 a consortium shall submit to the Secretary an application 12 in such manner, at such time, and containing such infor- 13 mation as the Secretary determines to be necessary. 14 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—A consortium shall be eligible to 15 receive a grant under this Act if— 16 (1) the consortium consists of— 17 (A) one or more research universities that 18 can demonstrate a significant annual clean 19 technology research budget, entrepreneurial 20 support programs, and technology licensing ex- 21 pertise; and 22 (B) a total of three or more qualifying en- 23 tities that can demonstrate expertise in 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:00 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3135.IS S3135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3135 IS translational research, clean technology, and 1 cluster development; 2 (2) the members of the consortium have estab- 3 lished a binding agreement that documents— 4 (A) the structure of the partnership agree- 5 ment; 6 (B) a governance and management struc- 7 ture that enables cost-effective implementation 8 of the program; 9 (C) a conflicts-of-interest policy, including 10 procedures, consistent with those of the Depart- 11 ment of Commerce, to ensure that employees 12 and designees for consortium activities who are 13 in decision-making capacities disclose all mate- 14 rial conflicts of interest, including financial, or- 15 ganizational, and personal conflicts of interest; 16 (D) an accounting structure that meets the 17 requirements of the Secretary and that may be 18 audited under this Act; and 19 (E) the existence of an external advisory 20 committee; 21 (3) the consortium receives funding from non- 22 Federal sources, such as a State and participants of 23 the consortium, that may be used to support 24 projects; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:00 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3135.IS S3135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3135 IS (4) the consortium is part of an existing cluster 1 or demonstrates high potential to develop a new 2 cluster; and 3 (5) the consortium operates as a nonprofit or- 4 ganization or as a public-private partnership under 5 an operating agreement led by a nonprofit organiza- 6 tion. 7 (c) DISQUALIFICATION.—The Secretary may dis- 8 qualify an application from a consortium under this Act 9 if the Secretary determines that the conflicts-of-interest 10 policy of the consortium is inadequate. 11 (d) EXTERNAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 13 grant under this Act, a consortium shall establish an 14 external advisory committee, the members of which 15 shall have extensive and relevant scientific, technical, 16 industry, financial, or research management exper- 17 tise. 18 (2) DUTIES.—An external advisory committee 19 shall— 20 (A) review the proposed plans, programs, 21 project selection criteria, and projects of the 22 consortium; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:00 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3135.IS S3135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3135 IS (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 the 18 enactment 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 16:00 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3135.IS S3135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3135 IS (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 16:00 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3135.IS S3135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 3135 IS (d) USE OF AMOUNTS.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3), a 2 consortium awarded a grant under this Act shall use 3 the amounts to support translational research, t [Text truncated for display. 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