Energizing Technology Transfer Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8273 To establish programs and authorities to facilitate the commercial application of clean energy and related technologies in the United States. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 16, 2020 Ms. JOHNSON of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology A BILL To establish programs and authorities to facilitate the com- mercial application of clean energy and related tech- nologies in the United States. 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Energizing Technology Transfer Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings. Sec. 3. Definitions. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:40 Sep 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H8273.IH H8273 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8273 IH TITLE I—NATIONAL CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROGRAMS Sec. 101. Regional clean energy innovation program. Sec. 102. National clean energy incubator program. Sec. 103. Clean energy technology university prize competition. Sec. 104. Clean energy technology transfer coordination. TITLE II—SUPPORTING TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AT THE NATIONAL LABORATORIES Sec. 201. Lab partnering service pilot program. Sec. 202. Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program. Sec. 203. Small business voucher program. Sec. 204. Entrepreneurial leave program. Sec. 205. National laboratory employee outside employment authority. Sec. 206. Technology commercialization fund. Sec. 207. Signature authority. TITLE III—DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY MODERNIZATION Sec. 301. Technology Transfer Program. Sec. 302. Management of demonstration projects. Sec. 303. Streamlining prize competitions. Sec. 304. Milestone-based demonstration projects. Sec. 305. Cost-share waiver extension. Sec. 306. Special hiring authority for scientific, engineering, and project man- agement personnel. Sec. 307. Technology transfer reports and evaluation. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) In order to achieve domestic and inter- 3 national net-zero greenhouse gas emissions targets, 4 a rapid and substantial investment in clean energy 5 innovation is needed. 6 (2) Clean energy technologies face unique ob- 7 stacles to successful commercial application, includ- 8 ing high up-front capital costs, long development 9 times, and the need to displace incumbent tech- 10 nologies in highly regulated markets. 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:40 Sep 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8273.IH H8273 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8273 IH (3) Multiple technology development and fi- 1 nancing gaps exist in the clean energy innovation 2 and commercial application landscape that are not 3 currently met by private sector investment alone. 4 (4) Federal investments in technology transfer 5 and demonstration programs help fill existing gaps 6 in the innovation cycle and improve the likelihood of 7 successful and timely commercial application of 8 clean energy technologies. 9 (5) To maximize clean energy innovation’s posi- 10 tive impact on United States economic competitive- 11 ness and reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, 12 the Department of Energy must show significant 13 leadership in enabling the transfer of new tech- 14 nologies to the private sector, particularly through 15 the Office of Technology Transitions. 16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 17 In this Act: 18 (1) CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGY.—The term 19 ‘‘clean energy technology’’ means a technology that 20 significantly reduces energy use, increases energy ef- 21 ficiency, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, reduces 22 emissions of other pollutants, or mitigates other neg- 23 ative environmental consequences. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:40 Sep 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8273.IH H8273 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8273 IH (2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 1 means the Department of Energy. 2 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 3 the Director of each National Laboratory and the 4 Director of each Department of Energy single-pur- 5 pose research facility. 6 (4) ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREA.—The 7 term ‘‘economically distressed area’’ has the mean- 8 ing described in section 301(a) of the Public Works 9 and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 10 3161(a)). 11 (5) GRANT.—The term ‘‘grant’’ means a grant 12 award, cooperative agreement award, or any other fi- 13 nancial assistance arrangement that the Secretary of 14 Energy determines to be appropriate. 15 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 16 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 17 meaning given such term in the Higher Education 18 Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 1001). 19 (7) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na- 20 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given that term 21 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 22 U.S.C. 15801). 23 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 24 the Secretary of Energy. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:40 Sep 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8273.IH H8273 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8273 IH TITLE I—NATIONAL CLEAN EN- 1 ERGY TECHNOLOGY TRANS- 2 FER PROGRAMS 3 SEC. 101. REGIONAL CLEAN ENERGY INNOVATION PRO- 4 GRAM. 5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 6 (1) REGIONAL CLEAN ENERGY INNOVATION 7 PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘regional clean energy in- 8 novation partnership’’ means a group of one or more 9 persons, including a covered consortium, who per- 10 form a collection of activities that are coordinated by 11 such covered consortium to carry out the purposes 12 of the program under subsection (c) in a region of 13 the United States. 14 (2) COVERED CONSORTIUM.—The term ‘‘cov- 15 ered consortium’’ means an individual or group of 16 individuals in partnership with a government entity, 17 including a State, local, or tribal government or unit 18 of such government, and at least 2 or more of the 19 following additional entities— 20 (A) an institution of higher education or 21 higher education consortium; 22 (B) a workforce training provider, includ- 23 ing vocational schools and community colleges; 24 (C) a private sector entity; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:40 Sep 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8273.IH H8273 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8273 IH (D) a nonprofit organization; 1 (E) a community group; 2 (F) a labor group; 3 (G) a National Laboratory; 4 (H) a venture development organization; 5 (I) an organization focused on clean energy 6 technology innovation or entrepreneurship; 7 (J) a business accelerator or incubator; 8 (K) a private sector entity or group of en- 9 tities, including a trade or industry association; 10 (L) an economic development organization; 11 (M) a manufacturing facility or organiza- 12 tion; 13 (N) a clean energy incubator or accel- 14 erator; or 15 (O) any other entity that the Secretary de- 16 termines to be relevant. 17 (3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 18 the Regional Clean Energy Innovation Program au- 19 thorized in subsection (b). 20 (4) FRONTLINE COMMUNITY.—The term 21 ‘‘frontline community’’ means a community with sig- 22 nificant representation of communities of color, low- 23 income communities, or Tribal and indigenous com- 24 munities, that experiences, or is at risk of experi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:40 Sep 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8273.IH H8273 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8273 IH encing higher or more adverse human health or envi- 1 ronmental effects. 2 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 3 Regional Clean Energy Innovation Program, a research, 4 development, demonstration, and commercial application 5 program designed to accelerate the pace of innovation of 6 clean energy technologies through the formation or sup- 7 port of regional clean energy innovation partnerships 8 that— 9 (1) are responsive to the energy resources, 10 needs of industry, workforce, policy landscape, and 11 clean energy innovation capabilities of the region of 12 the country in which such partnership is located; 13 (2) enhance and accelerate clean energy innova- 14 tion; and 15 (3) are located in diverse geographic regions of 16 the United States, including United States terri- 17 tories. 18 (c) PURPOSES OF THE PROGRAM.—The purposes of 19 the program established under subsection (a) are to— 20 (1) improve the competitiveness of United 21 States clean energy technology research, develop- 22 ment, demonstration, and commercial application; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:40 Sep 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8273.IH H8273 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8273 IH (2) support the development of tools and tech- 1 nologies best suited for use in low-income and front- 2 line communities. 3 (d) REGIONAL CLEAN ENERGY INNOVATION PART- 4 NERSHIPS.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall competi- 6 tively award grants to covered consortia to establish 7 or support regional clean energy innovation partner- 8 ships that achieve the purposes of the program in 9 subsection (c). 10 (2) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Grants awarded 11 under this subsection shall be used for activities de- 12 termined appropriate by the Secretary to achieve the 13 purposes of the program in subsection (c), includ- 14 ing— 15 (A) facilitating the commercial application 16 of clean energy products, processes, and serv- 17 ices, including through research, development, 18 demonstration, technology transfer, or support 19 of clean energy companies; 20 (B) planning among participants of a re- 21 gional clean energy innovation partnership to 22 improve the strategic coordination of the part- 23 nership; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:40 Sep 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8273.IH H8273 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8273 IH (C) improving stakeholder involvement in 1 the development of goals and activities of a re- 2 gional clean energy innovation partnership; 3 (D) assessing different incentive mecha- 4 nisms for clean energy development and com- 5 mercial application in the region; 6 (E) hosting events and conferences; and 7 (F) establishing and updating roadmaps to 8 measure progress on relevant goals, such as 9 those relevant to metrics developed under sub- 10 section (h). 11 (3) APPLICATIONS.—Each application sub- 12 mitted to the Secretary under paragraph (1) may in- 13 clude— 14 (A) a list of members and roles of mem- 15 bers of the covered consortia, as well as any 16 other stakeholders supporting the activities of 17 the regional clean energy innovation partner- 18 ship; 19 (B) a description of the proposed outcomes 20 of the regional clean energy innovation partner- 21 ship; 22 (C) an assessment of the relevant clean en- 23 ergy innovation assets needed in a region to 24 achieve proposed outcomes, such as education 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:40 Sep 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8273.IH H8273 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8273 IH and training programs, research facilities, infra- 1 structure or site development, access to capital, 2 manufacturing capabilities, or other assets; 3 (D) a description of proposed activities 4 that the regional clean energy innovation part- 5 nership plans to undertake and how the pro- 6 posed activities will achieve the purposes de- 7 scribed in subsection (c) and the proposed out- 8 comes in subparagraph (B); 9 (E) a description of the geographical re- 10 gion that will engage in the partnership; 11 (F) a plan for attracting additional funds 12 and identification of funding sources from non- 13 Federal sources to deliver the proposed out- 14 comes of the regional clean energy innovation 15 partnership; and 16 (G) a plan for sustaining activities of the 17 regional clean energy innovation partnership 18 after funds received under this program have 19 been expended. 20 (4) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting covered 21 consortia for funding under the program, the Sec- 22 retary shall— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:40 Sep 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8273.IH H8273 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8273 IH (A) give special consideration to applica- 1 tions from entities located in an economically 2 distressed area; and 3 (B) ensure that there is geographic diver- 4 sity among the covered consortia selected to re- 5 ceive funding. 6 (5) AWARD AMOUNT.—Grants given out under 7 this Program shall be in an amount not greater than 8 $10,000,000, with the total grant award in any year 9 less than that in the previous year. 10 (6) COST SHARE.—For grants that are dis- 11 bursed over the course of three or more years, the 12 Secretary shall require, as a condition of receipt of 13 funds under this section, that a covered consortium 14 provide not less than 50 percent of the funding for 15 the activities of the regional clean energy partner- 16 ship under this section for years 3, 4, and 5. 17 (7) DURATION.—Each grant under paragraph 18 (1) shall be for a period of not longer than 5 years. 19 (8) RENEWAL.—A grant award made to a re- 20 gional clean energy innovation partnership under 21 this section may be renewed for a period of not more 22 than 5 years, subject to a rigorous merit review 23 based on the progress of a regional clean energy in- 24 novation partnership towards achieving the purposes 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:40 Sep 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8273.IH H8273 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8273 IH of the program in section (c) and the metrics devel- 1 oped under section (h). 2 (9) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The Secretary 3 may allow a covered consortium that receives funds 4 under this section to allocate a portion of the fund- 5 ing received to be used for administrative or indirect 6 costs. 7 (10) FUNDING.—The Secretary may accept 8 funds from other Federal agencies to support fund- 9 ing and activities under this section. 10 (e) PLANNING FUNDS.—The Secretary may competi- 11 tively award grants in an amount no greater than 12 $2,000,000 for a period not longer than 2 years to an enti- 13 ty consisting of a government entity, including a State, 14 local, or tribal government or unit of such government or 15 any entity listed under subsection (a)(2) to plan a regional 16 clean energy innovation partnership or establish a covered 17 consortium for the purpose of a [Text truncated for display. 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