Energy Innovation Corps

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7934 To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish the Energy I-Corps program. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 4, 2020 Mr. LIPINSKI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology A BILL To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish the Energy I-Corps program. 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 ‘‘Energy Innovation 4 Corps’’. 5 SEC. 2. ENERGY I-CORPS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy (herein- 7 after referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’), acting through the 8 Technology Transfer Coordinator established in section 9 1001(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 10 16391(a)), shall carry out a program to support commer- 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:29 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7934.IH H7934 2 •HR 7934 IH cial application education, training, professional develop- 1 ment, and mentorship called the ‘‘Energy Innovation 2 Corps Program’’ (hereinafter in this section referred to 3 as ‘‘Energy I-Corps’’). 4 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of Energy I-Corps shall 5 be to help participants described in subsection (c) develop 6 skills and to accelerate the commercial application of clean 7 energy technologies and other technologies related to the 8 mission of the Department of Energy. 9 (c) PARTICIPANTS.—The Secretary shall carry out 10 this program for participants consisting of— 11 (1) employees at the National Laboratories; and 12 (2) researchers, students, and clean energy en- 13 trepreneurs. 14 (d) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out Energy I-Corps, 15 the Secretary shall support— 16 (1) commercial application education, training, 17 and mentoring activities, including workshops, semi- 18 nars, and short courses; 19 (2) engagement with private sector entities to 20 identify future research and development activities; 21 and 22 (3) any other activities that the Secretary de- 23 termines to be relevant. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:29 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7934.IH H7934 3 •HR 7934 IH (e) STATE AND LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS.—In carrying 1 out Energy I-Corps, the Secretary may engage in partner- 2 ships with National Laboratories, State and local govern- 3 ments, economic development organizations, and nonprofit 4 organizations to broaden access to Energy I-Corps and 5 support relevant activities under this subsection. 6 (f) FEDERAL COORDINATION.—In carrying out En- 7 ergy I-Corps, the Secretary may coordinate with any other 8 Federal science agency program that carries out a similar 9 program to support entrepreneurial and commercial appli- 10 cation education, training, professional development, and 11 mentorship in order to share best practices. 12 (g) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall submit 3 13 years after the enactment of this Act and every 3 years 14 thereafter to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech- 15 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 16 on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate an evalua- 17 tion on the long-term effectiveness of the Energy I-Corps 18 program and the progress towards achieving the purposes 19 of the program in subsection (a). 20 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 21 are authorized to be appropriated to the Technology 22 Transfer Coordinator established in section 1001(a) of the 23 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16391(a)) to carry 24 out the activities authorized in subsection (a)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Aug 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7934.IH H7934 4 •HR 7934 IH (1) for participants under subsection (c)(1) 1 $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2 2025; and 3 (2) for participants under subsection (c)(2) 4 $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 5 2025. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Aug 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7934.IH H7934