Vehicle Innovation Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1099 To support research, development, and other activities to develop innovative vehicle technologies, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 30, 2023 Mr. PETERS (for himself, Mr. HAGERTY, and Ms. STABENOW) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on En- ergy and Natural Resources 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 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 8 means the Department of Energy. 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:00 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1099.IS S1099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1099 IS (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 1 the Secretary of Energy. 2 SEC. 3. OBJECTIVES. 3 The objectives of this Act are— 4 (1) to establish a consistent and consolidated 5 authority for the vehicle technology program at the 6 Department; 7 (2) to develop United States technologies and 8 practices that improve the fuel efficiency and emis- 9 sions of all vehicles produced in the United States; 10 (3) to support domestic research, development, 11 engineering, demonstration, and commercial applica- 12 tion and manufacturing of advanced vehicles, en- 13 gines, and components; 14 (4) to enable vehicles to move larger volumes of 15 goods and more passengers with less energy and 16 emissions; 17 (5) to develop cost-effective advanced tech- 18 nologies for wide-scale utilization throughout the 19 passenger, commercial, government, and transit ve- 20 hicle sectors; 21 (6) to allow for greater consumer choice of vehi- 22 cle technologies and fuels; 23 (7) shorten technology development and inte- 24 gration cycles in the vehicle industry; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:00 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1099.IS S1099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1099 IS (8) to ensure a proper balance and diversity of 1 Federal investment in vehicle technologies; and 2 (9) to strengthen partnerships between Federal 3 and State governmental agencies and the private 4 and academic sectors. 5 SEC. 4. COORDINATION AND NONDUPLICATION. 6 The Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum extent 7 practicable, that the activities authorized by this Act do 8 not duplicate those of other programs within the Depart- 9 ment or other relevant research agencies. 10 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 11 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec- 12 retary for research, development, engineering, demonstra- 13 tion, and commercial application of vehicles and related 14 technologies in the United States, including activities au- 15 thorized under this Act— 16 (1) for fiscal year 2024, $313,567,000; 17 (2) for fiscal year 2025, $326,109,000; 18 (3) for fiscal year 2026, $339,154,000; 19 (4) for fiscal year 2027, $352,720,000; and 20 (5) for fiscal year 2028, $366,829,000. 21 SEC. 6. REPORTING. 22 (a) TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPED.—Not later than 18 23 months after the date of enactment of this Act and annu- 24 ally thereafter through 2028, the Secretary shall submit 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:00 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1099.IS S1099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1099 IS to Congress a report regarding the technologies developed 1 as a result of the activities authorized by this Act, with 2 a particular emphasis on whether the technologies were 3 successfully adopted for commercial applications, and if 4 so, whether products relying on those technologies are 5 manufactured in the United States. 6 (b) ADDITIONAL MATTERS.—At the end of each fis- 7 cal year through 2028, the Secretary shall submit to the 8 relevant Congressional committees of jurisdiction an an- 9 nual report describing activities undertaken in the pre- 10 vious year under this Act, active industry participants, the 11 status of public-private partnerships, progress of the pro- 12 gram in meeting goals and timelines, and a strategic plan 13 for funding of activities across agencies. 14 SEC. 7. VEHICLE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 15 (a) PROGRAM.— 16 (1) ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary shall conduct a 17 program of basic and applied research, development, 18 engineering, demonstration, and commercial applica- 19 tion activities on materials, technologies, and proc- 20 esses with the potential to substantially reduce pe- 21 troleum use and the emissions of the passenger and 22 commercial vehicles of the United States, including 23 activities in the areas of— 24 (A) electrification of vehicle systems; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:00 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1099.IS S1099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1099 IS (B) batteries, ultracapacitors, and other 1 energy storage devices; 2 (C) power electronics; 3 (D) vehicle, component, and subsystem 4 manufacturing technologies and processes; 5 (E) engine efficiency and combustion opti- 6 mization; 7 (F) waste heat recovery; 8 (G) transmission and drivetrains; 9 (H) hydrogen vehicle technologies, includ- 10 ing fuel cells and internal combustion engines, 11 and hydrogen infrastructure, including hydro- 12 gen energy storage to enable renewables and 13 provide hydrogen for fuel and power; 14 (I) natural gas vehicle technologies; 15 (J) aerodynamics, rolling resistance (in- 16 cluding tires and wheel assemblies), and acces- 17 sory power loads of vehicles and associated 18 equipment; 19 (K) vehicle weight reduction, including 20 lightweighting materials and the development of 21 manufacturing processes to fabricate, assemble, 22 and use dissimilar materials; 23 (L) friction and wear reduction; 24 (M) engine and component durability; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:00 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1099.IS S1099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1099 IS (N) innovative propulsion systems; 1 (O) advanced boosting systems; 2 (P) hydraulic hybrid technologies; 3 (Q) engine compatibility with and optimi- 4 zation for a variety of transportation fuels in- 5 cluding natural gas and other liquid and gas- 6 eous fuels; 7 (R) predictive engineering, modeling, and 8 simulation of vehicle and transportation sys- 9 tems; 10 (S) refueling and charging infrastructure 11 for alternative fueled and electric or plug-in 12 electric hybrid vehicles, including the unique 13 challenges facing rural areas; 14 (T) gaseous fuels storage systems and sys- 15 tem integration and optimization; 16 (U) sensing, communications, and actu- 17 ation technologies for vehicle, electrical grid, 18 and infrastructure; 19 (V) efficient use, substitution, and recy- 20 cling of potentially critical materials in vehicles, 21 including rare earth elements and precious met- 22 als, at risk of supply disruption; 23 (W) aftertreatment technologies; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:00 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1099.IS S1099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1099 IS (X) thermal management of battery sys- 1 tems; 2 (Y) retrofitting advanced vehicle tech- 3 nologies to existing vehicles; 4 (Z) development of common standards, 5 specifications, and architectures for both trans- 6 portation and stationary battery applications; 7 (AA) advanced internal combustion en- 8 gines; 9 (BB) mild hybrid; 10 (CC) engine down speeding; 11 (DD) vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-pedes- 12 trian, and vehicle-to-infrastructure technologies; 13 and 14 (EE) other research areas as determined 15 by the Secretary. 16 (2) TRANSFORMATIONAL TECHNOLOGY.—The 17 Secretary shall ensure that the Department con- 18 tinues to support research, development, engineer- 19 ing, demonstration, and commercial application ac- 20 tivities and maintains competency in mid- to long- 21 term transformational vehicle technologies with po- 22 tential to achieve reductions in emissions, including 23 activities in the areas of— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:00 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1099.IS S1099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1099 IS (A) hydrogen vehicle technologies, includ- 1 ing fuel cells, hydrogen storage, infrastructure, 2 and activities in hydrogen technology validation 3 and safety codes and standards; 4 (B) multiple battery chemistries and novel 5 energy storage devices, including nonchemical 6 batteries and electromechanical storage tech- 7 nologies such as hydraulics, flywheels, and com- 8 pressed air storage; 9 (C) communication and connectivity among 10 vehicles, infrastructure, and the electrical grid; 11 and 12 (D) other innovative technologies research 13 and development, as determined by the Sec- 14 retary. 15 (3) INDUSTRY PARTICIPATION.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum ex- 17 tent practicable, activities under this Act shall 18 be carried out in partnership or collaboration 19 with automotive manufacturers, heavy commer- 20 cial, vocational, and transit vehicle manufactur- 21 ers, qualified plug-in electric vehicle manufac- 22 turers, compressed natural gas vehicle manufac- 23 turers, vehicle and engine equipment and com- 24 ponent manufacturers, manufacturing equip- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:00 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1099.IS S1099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1099 IS ment manufacturers, advanced vehicle service 1 providers, fuel producers and energy suppliers, 2 electric utilities, universities, national labora- 3 tories, and independent research laboratories. 4 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out this 5 Act, the Secretary shall— 6 (i) determine whether a wide range of 7 companies that manufacture or assemble 8 vehicles or components in the United 9 States are represented in ongoing public- 10 private partnership activities, including 11 firms that have not traditionally partici- 12 pated in federally sponsored research and 13 development activities, and where possible, 14 partner with such firms that conduct sig- 15 nificant and relevant research and develop- 16 ment activities in the United States; 17 (ii) leverage the capabilities and re- 18 sources of, and formalize partnerships 19 with, industry-led stakeholder organiza- 20 tions, nonprofit organizations, industry 21 consortia, and trade associations with ex- 22 pertise in the research and development of, 23 and education and outreach activities in, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:00 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1099.IS S1099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1099 IS advanced automotive and commercial vehi- 1 cle technologies; 2 (iii) develop more effective processes 3 for transferring research findings and tech- 4 nologies to industry; 5 (iv) support public-private partner- 6 ships, dedicated to overcoming barriers in 7 commercial application of transformational 8 vehicle technologies, that use such indus- 9 try-led technology development facilities of 10 entities with demonstrated expertise in 11 successfully designing and engineering pre- 12 commercial generations of such trans- 13 formational technology; and 14 (v) promote efforts to ensure that 15 technology research, development, engi- 16 neering, and commercial application activi- 17 ties funded under this Act are carried out 18 in the United States. 19 (4) INTERAGENCY AND INTRAAGENCY COORDI- 20 NATION.—To the maximum extent practicable, the 21 Secretary shall coordinate research, development, 22 demonstration, and commercial application activities 23 among— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:00 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1099.IS S1099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1099 IS (A) relevant programs within the Depart- 1 ment, including— 2 (i) the Office of Energy Efficiency 3 and Renewable Energy; 4 (ii) the Office of Science; 5 (iii) the Office of Electricity Delivery 6 and Energy Reliability; 7 (iv) the Office of Fossil Energy; 8 (v) the Advanced Research Projects 9 Agency—Energy; and 10 (vi) other offices as determined by the 11 Secretary; and 12 (B) relevant technology research and devel- 13 opment programs within other Federal agen- 14 cies, as determined by the Secretary. 15 (5) FEDERAL DEMONSTRATION OF TECH- 16 NOLOGIES.—The Secretary shall make information 17 available to procurement programs of Federal agen- 18 cies regarding the potential to demonstrate tech- 19 nologies resulting from activities funded through 20 programs under this Act. 21 (6) INTERGOVERNMENTAL COORDINATION.— 22 The Secretary shall seek opportunities to leverage 23 resources and support initiatives of State and local 24 governments in developing and promoting advanced 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:00 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1099.IS S1099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 1099 IS vehicle technologies, manufacturing, and infrastruc- 1 ture. 2 (7) CRITERIA.—In awarding grants under the 3 program under this subsection, the Secretary shall 4 give priority to those technologies (either individually 5 or as part of a system) that— 6 (A) provide the greatest aggregate fuel 7 savings based on the reasonable projected sales 8 volumes of the technology; and 9 (B) provide the greatest increase in United 10 States employment. 11 (8) SECONDARY USE APPLICATIONS.— 12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 13 carry out a research, development, and dem- 14 onstration program that— 15 (i) builds on any work carried out 16 under section 915 of the Energy Policy Act 17 of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16195); 18 (ii) identifies possible uses of a vehicle 19 battery after the useful life of the battery 20 in a vehicle has been exhausted; 21 (iii) conducts long-term testing to 22 verify performance and degradation pre- 23 dictions and lifetime valuations for sec- 24 ondary uses; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:00 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1099.IS S1099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •S 1099 IS (iv) evaluates innovative approaches to 1 recycling materials from plug-in electric 2 drive vehicles and the batteries used in 3 plug-in electric drive vehicles; 4 (v)(I) assesses the potential for mar- 5 kets for uses described in clause (ii) to de- 6 velop; and 7 (II) identifies any barriers to the de- 8 velopment of those markets; and 9 (vi) identifies the potential uses of a 10 vehicle battery— 11 (I) with the most promise [Text truncated for display. 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