A bill to authorize the Secretary of Energy to establish monetary prizes for achievements in overcoming scientific and technical barriers associated with hydrogen energy.

Summary: H-Prize Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to award competitive cash prizes to advance the research, development, demonstration, and commercial application of hydrogen energy technologies.

Designates prize-eligible categories, including: (1) advancements in certain hydrogen components or systems; (2) prototypes of hydrogen-powered vehicles or other hydrogen-based products that meet or exceed certain performance criteria; and (3) transformational changes in technologies for hydrogen distribution or production that meet or exceed far-reaching criteria, including minimal carbon emissions, and which may include cost criteria designed to facilitate the eventual market success of a winning technology.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``H-Prize Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administering entity.--The term ``administering 
        entity'' means the entity with which the Secretary enters into 
        an agreement under section 3(c).
            (2) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of Energy.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.

SEC. 3. PRIZE AUTHORITY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out a program to 
competitively award cash prizes only in conformity with this Act to 
advance the research, development, demonstration, and commercial 
application of hydrogen energy technologies.
    (b) Advertising and Solicitation of Competitors.--
            (1) Advertising.--The Secretary shall widely advertise 
        prize competitions to encourage broad participation, including 
        by individuals, universities (including historically Black 
        colleges and universities and other minority serving 
        institutions), and large and small businesses (including 
        businesses owned or controlled by socially and economically 
        disadvantaged persons).
            (2) Announcement through federal register notice.--The 
        Secretary shall announce each prize competition by publishing a 
        notice in the Federal Register. This notice shall include the 
        subject of the competition, the duration of the competition, 
        the eligibility requirements for participation in the 
        competition, the process for participants to register for the 
        competition, the amount of the prize, and the criteria for 
        awarding the prize.
    (c) Administering the Competitions.--The Secretary shall enter into 
an agreement with a private, nonprofit entity to administer the prize 
competitions, subject to the provisions of this Act. The duties of the 
administering entity under the agreement shall include--
            (1) advertising prize competitions and their results;
            (2) raising funds from private entities and individuals to 
        pay for administrative costs and to contribute to cash prizes;
            (3) working with the Secretary to develop the criteria for 
        selecting winners in prize competitions, based on goals 
        provided by the Secretary;
            (4) determining, in consultation with the Secretary, the 
        appropriate amount for each prize to be awarded;
            (5) selecting judges in accordance with section 4(d), using 
        criteria developed in consultation with the Secretary; and
            (6) preventing the unauthorized use or disclosure of a 
        registered participant's intellectual property, trade secrets, 
        and confidential business information.
    (d) Funding Sources.--Prizes under this Act shall consist of 
Federal appropriated funds and any funds provided by the administering 
entity (including funds raised pursuant to subsection (c)(2)) for such 
cash prizes. The Secretary may accept funds from other Federal agencies 
for such cash prizes. The Secretary may not give any special 
consideration to any private sector entity or individual in return for 
a donation to the administering entity.
    (e) Announcement of Prizes.--The Secretary may not issue a notice 
required by subsection (b)(2) until all the funds needed to pay out the 
announced amount of the prize have been appropriated or committed in 
writing by the administering entity. The Secretary may increase the 
amount of a prize after an initial announcement is made under 
subsection (b)(2) if--
            (1) notice of the increase is provided in the same manner 
        as the initial notice of the prize; and
            (2) the funds needed to pay out the announced amount of the 
        increase have been appropriated or committed in writing by the 
        administering entity.
    (f) Sunset.--The authority to announce prize competitions under 
this Act shall terminate on September 30, 2018.

SEC. 4. PRIZE CATEGORIES.

    (a) Categories.--The Secretary shall establish prizes for--
            (1) advancements in components or systems related to--
                    (A) hydrogen production;
                    (B) hydrogen storage;
                    (C) hydrogen distribution; and
                    (D) hydrogen utilization;
            (2) prototypes of hydrogen-powered vehicles or other 
        hydrogen-based products that best meet or exceed objective 
        performance criteria, such as completion of a race over a 
        certain distance or terrain or generation of energy at certain 
        levels of efficiency; and
            (3) transformational changes in technologies for the 
        distribution or production of hydrogen that meet or exceed far-
        reaching objective criteria, which shall include minimal carbon 
        emissions and which may include cost criteria designed to 
        facilitate the eventual market success of a winning technology.
    (b) Awards.--
            (1) Advancements.--To the extent permitted under section 
        3(e), the prizes authorized under subsection (a)(1) shall be 
        awarded biennially to the most significant advance made in each 
        of the four subcategories described in subparagraphs (A) 
        through (D) of subsection (a)(1) since the submission deadline 
        of the previous prize competition in the same category under 
        subsection (a)(1) or the date of enactment of this Act, 
        whichever is later, unless no such advance is significant 
        enough to merit an award. No one such prize may exceed 
        $1,000,000. If less than $4,000,000 is available for a prize 
        competition under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary may omit one 
        or more subcategories, reduce the amount of the prizes, or not 
        hold a prize competition.
            (2) Prototypes.--To the extent permitted under section 
        3(e), prizes authorized under subsection (a)(2) shall be 
        awarded biennially in alternate years from the prizes 
        authorized under subsection (a)(1). The Secretary is authorized 
        to award up to one prize in this category in each 2-year 
        period. No such prize may exceed $4,000,000. If no registered 
        participants meet the objective performance criteria 
        established pursuant to subsection (c) for a competition under 
        this paragraph, the Secretary shall not award a prize.
            (3) Transformational technologies.--To the extent permitted 
        under section 3(e), the Secretary shall announce one prize 
        competition authorized under subsection (a)(3) as soon after 
        the date of enactment of this Act as is practicable. A prize 
        offered under this paragraph shall be not less than 
        $10,000,000, paid to the winner in a lump sum, and an 
        additional amount paid to the winner as a match for each dollar 
        of private funding raised by the winner for the hydrogen 
        technology beginning on the date the winner was named. The 
        match shall be provided for 3 years after the date the prize 
        winner is named or until the full amount of the prize has been 
        paid out, whichever occurs first. A prize winner may elect to 
        have the match amount paid to another entity that is continuing 
        the development of the winning technology. The Secretary shall 
        announce the rules for receiving the match in the notice 
        required by section 3(b)(2). The Secretary shall award a prize 
        under this paragraph only when a registered participant has met 
        the objective criteria established for the prize pursuant to 
        subsection (c) and announced pursuant to section 3(b)(2). Not 
        more than $10,000,000 in Federal funds may be used for the 
        prize award under this paragraph. The administering entity 
        shall seek to raise $40,000,000 toward the matching award under 
        this paragraph.
    (c) Criteria.--In establishing the criteria required by this Act, 
the Secretary shall consult with--
            (1) the Department's Hydrogen Technical and Fuel Cell 
        Advisory Committee;
            (2) other Federal agencies, including the National Science 
        Foundation; and
            (3) private organizations, including professional 
        societies, industry associations, and the National Academy of 
        Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.
    (d) Judges.--For each prize competition, the Secretary shall 
assemble a panel of qualified judges to select the winner or winners on 
the basis of the criteria established under subsection (c). Judges for 
each prize competition shall include individuals from outside the 
Department, including from the private sector. A judge may not--
            (1) have personal or financial interests in, or be an 
        employee, officer, director, or agent of, any entity that is a 
        registered participant in the prize competition for which he or 
        she will serve as a judge; or
            (2) have a familial or financial relationship with an 
        individual who is a registered participant in the prize 
        competition for which he or she will serve as a judge.

SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY.

    To be eligible to win a prize under this Act, an individual or 
entity--
            (1) shall have complied with all the requirements in 
        accordance with the Federal Register notice required under 
        section 3(b)(2);
            (2) in the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated 
        in and maintain a primary place of business in the United 
        States, and in the case of an individual, whether participating 
        singly or in a group, shall be a citizen of, or an alien 
        lawfully admitted for permanent residence in, the United 
        States; and
            (3) shall not be a Federal entity, a Federal employee 
        acting within the scope of his employment, or an employee of a 
        national laboratory acting within the scope of his employment.

SEC. 6. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.

    The Federal Government shall not, by virtue of offering or awarding 
a prize under this Act, be entitled to any intellectual property rights 
derived as a consequence of, or direct relation to, the participation 
by a registered participant in a competition authorized by this Act. 
This section shall not be construed to prevent the Federal Government 
from negotiating a license for the use of intellectual property 
developed for a prize competition under this Act.

SEC. 7. LIABILITY.

    (a) Waiver of Liability.--The Secretary may require registered 
participants to waive claims against the Federal Government and the 
administering entity (except claims for willful misconduct) for any 
injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits arising 
from the registered participants' participation in a competition under 
this Act. The Secretary shall give notice of any waiver required under 
this subsection in the notice required by section 3(b)(2). The 
Secretary may not require a registered participant to waive claims 
against the administering entity arising out of the unauthorized use or 
disclosure by the administering entity of the registered participant's 
intellectual property, trade secrets, or confidential business 
information.
    (b) Liability Insurance.--
            (1) Requirements.--Registered participants shall be 
        required to obtain liability insurance or demonstrate financial 
        responsibility, in amounts determined by the Secretary, for 
        claims by--
                    (A) a third party for death, bodily injury, or 
                property damage or loss resulting from an activity 
                carried out in connection with participation in a 
                competition under this Act; and
                    (B) the Federal Government for damage or loss to 
                Government property resulting from such an activity.
            (2) Federal government insured.--The Federal Government 
        shall be named as an additional insured under a registered 
        participant's insurance policy required under paragraph (1)(A), 
        and registered participants shall be required to agree to 
        indemnify the Federal Government against third party claims for 
        damages arising from or related to competition activities.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) Awards.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the 
        Secretary for the period encompassing fiscal years 2008 through 
        2017 for carrying out this Act--
                    (A) $20,000,000 for awards described in section 
                (4)(a)(1);
                    (B) $20,000,000 for awards described in section 
                4(a)(2); and
                    (C) $10,000,000 for the award described in section 
                4(a)(3).
            (2) Administration.--In addition to the amounts authorized 
        in paragraph (1), there are authorized to be appropriated to 
        the Secretary for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2017 
        $2,000,000 for the administrative costs of carrying out this 
        Act.
    (b) Carryover of Funds.--Funds appropriated for prize awards under 
this Act shall remain available until expended, and may be transferred, 
reprogrammed, or expended for other purposes only after the expiration 
of 10 fiscal years after the fiscal year for which the funds were 
originally appropriated. No provision in this Act permits obligation or 
payment of funds in violation of section 1341 of title 31 of the United 
States Code (commonly referred to as the Anti-Deficiency Act).

SEC. 9. NONSUBSTITUTION.

    The programs created under this Act shall not be considered a 
substitute for Federal research and development programs.