II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2796 

To authorize the Secretary of Energy to establish monetary prizes for achievements in overcoming scientific and technical barriers associated with 

hydrogen energy. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 12, 2006 

Mr. GRAHAM (for himself and Mr. DORGAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Energy to establish monetary 

prizes for achievements in overcoming scientific and technical barriers associated with hydrogen energy. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘H-Prize Act of 2006’’. 

5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) ADMINISTERING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘ad8 ministering entity’’ means the entity with which the 


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1 Secretary enters into an agreement under section 

2 3(c). 

3 (2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

4 means the Department of Energy. 

5 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

6 the Secretary of Energy. 

7 SEC. 3. PRIZE AUTHORITY. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 

9 program to competitively award cash prizes only in con10 formity with this Act to advance the research, develop11 ment, demonstration, and commercial application of hy12 drogen energy technologies. 

13 (b) ADVERTISING AND SOLICITATION OF COMPETI14 TORS.— 

15 (1) ADVERTISING.—The Secretary shall widely 

16 advertise prize competitions to encourage broad par17 ticipation, including participation by— 

18 (A) individuals; 

19 (B) institutions of higher education, in20 cluding historically Black colleges and univer21 sities and other institutions serving minorities; 

22 and 

23 (C) large and small businesses, including 

24 businesses owned or controlled by socially and 

25 economically disadvantaged persons. 


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1 (2) ANNOUNCEMENT THROUGH FEDERAL REG2 ISTER NOTICE.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall an4 nounce each prize competition by publishing a 

5 notice in the Federal Register. 

6 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—The notice shall in7 clude a description of— 

8 (i) the subject of the competition; 

9 (ii) the duration of the competition; 

10 (iii) the eligibility requirements for 

11 participation in the competition; 

12 (iv) the process for participants to 

13 register for the competition; 

14 (v) the amount of the prize; and 

15 (vi) the criteria for awarding the 

16 prize. 

17 (c) ADMINISTERING THE COMPETITIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter 

19 into an agreement with a private, nonprofit entity to 

20 administer the prize competitions, subject to this 

21 Act. 

22 (2) DUTIES.—The duties of the administering 

23 entity under the agreement shall include— 

24 (A) advertising prize competitions and the 

25 results of the prize competitions; 


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1 (B) raising funds from private entities and 

2 individuals to pay for administrative costs and 

3 contribute to cash prizes; 

4 (C) working with the Secretary to develop 

5 the criteria for selecting winners in prize com6 petitions, based on goals provided by the Sec7 retary; 

8 (D) determining, in consultation with the 

9 Secretary, the appropriate amount for each 

10 prize to be awarded; 

11 (E) selecting judges in accordance with 

12 section 4(d), using criteria developed in con13 sultation with the Secretary; and 

14 (F) preventing the unauthorized use or 

15 disclosure of the intellectual property, trade se16 crets, and confidential business information of 

17 registered participants. 

18 (d) FUNDING SOURCES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Cash prizes under this Act 

20 shall consist of funds appropriated under section 8 

21 and any funds provided by the administering entity 

22 for the cash prizes (including funds raised pursuant 

23 to subsection (c)(2)(B)). 


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1 (2) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The Sec2 retary may accept funds from other Federal agencies 

3 for the cash prizes. 

4 (3) NO SPECIAL CONSIDERATION.—The Sec5 retary may not give any special consideration to any 

6 private sector entity or individual in return for a do7 nation to the administering entity. 

8 (e) ANNOUNCEMENT OF PRIZES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not issue 

10 a notice required by subsection (b)(2) until all the 

11 funds needed to pay out the announced amount of 

12 the prize have been appropriated or committed in 

13 writing by the administering entity. 

14 (2) INCREASE IN AMOUNT OF PRIZE.—The Sec15 retary may increase the amount of a prize after an 

16 initial announcement is made under subsection 

17 (b)(2) if— 

18 (A) notice of the increase is provided in 

19 the same manner as the initial notice of the 

20 prize; and 

21 (B) the funds needed to pay out the an22 nounced amount of the increase have been ap23 propriated or committed in writing by the ad24 ministering entity. 


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1 SEC. 4. PRIZE CATEGORIES. 

2 (a) CATEGORIES.—The Secretary shall establish 

3 prizes for— 

4 (1) advancements in components or systems re5 lated to— 

6 (A) hydrogen production; 

7 (B) hydrogen storage; 

8 (C) hydrogen distribution; and 

9 (D) hydrogen utilization; 

10 (2) prototypes of hydrogen-powered vehicles or 

11 other hydrogen-based products that best meet or ex12 ceed objective performance criteria, such as comple13 tion of a race over a certain distance or terrain or 

14 generation of energy at certain levels of efficiency; 

15 and 

16 (3) transformational changes in technologies for 

17 the distribution or production of hydrogen that meet 

18 or exceed far-reaching objective criteria that— 

19 (A) shall include minimal carbon emis20 sions; and 

21 (B) may include cost criteria designed to 

22 facilitate the eventual market success of a win23 ning technology. 

24 (b) AWARDS.— 

25 (1) ADVANCEMENTS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—To the extent per2 mitted under section 3(e), the prizes authorized 

3 under subsection (a)(1) shall be awarded bien4 nially to the most significant advance made in 

5 each of the 4 subcategories described in sub6 paragraphs (A) through (D) of subsection 

7 (a)(1) since the submission deadline of the pre8 vious prize competition in the same category 

9 under subsection (a)(1) or the date of enact10 ment of this Act, whichever is later, unless no 

11 such advance is significant enough to merit an 

12 award. 

13 (B) MAXIMUM AMOUNT FOR SINGLE

14 PRIZE.—No single prize described in subpara15 graph (A) may exceed $1,000,000. 

16 (C) INSUFFICIENT TOTAL FUNDS.—If less 

17 than $4,000,000 is available for a prize com18 petition under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary 

19 may— 

20 (i) omit 1 or more subcategories; 

21 (ii) reduce the amount of the prizes; 

22 or 

23 (iii) not hold a prize competition. 

24 (2) PROTOTYPES.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—To the extent per2 mitted under section 3(e), prizes authorized 

3 under subsection (a)(2) shall be awarded bien4 nially in alternate years from the prizes author5 ized under subsection (a)(1). 

6 (B) TOTAL NUMBER OF PRIZES.—The Sec7 retary may award no more than 1 prize under 

8 subsection (a)(1) in each 2-year period. 

9 (C) MAXIMUM AMOUNT FOR SINGLE

10 PRIZE.—No single prize under this paragraph 

11 may exceed $4,000,000. 

12 (D) INSUFFICIENT QUALIFIED ENTRIES.— 

13 If no registered participant meets the objective 

14 performance criteria established pursuant to 

15 subsection (c) for a competition under this 

16 paragraph, the Secretary shall not award a 

17 prize. 

18 (3) TRANSFORMATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—To the extent per20 mitted under section 3(e), the Secretary shall 

21 announce 1 prize competition authorized under 

22 subsection (a)(3) as soon as practicable after 

23 the date of enactment of this Act. 

24 (B) AMOUNT OF PRIZE.—A prize offered 

25 under this paragraph shall— 


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1 (i) be in an amount not less than 

2 $10,000,000; 

3 (ii) be paid to the winner in a lump 

4 sum; and 

5 (iii) include an additional amount paid 

6 to the winner as a match for each dollar 

7 of non-Federal funding raised by the win8 ner for the hydrogen technology beginning 

9 on the date the winner was named. 

10 (C) MATCHING.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—The match de12 scribed in subparagraph (B)(iii) shall be 

13 provided until the earlier of— 

14 (I) the date that is 3 years after 

15 the date the prize winner is named; or 

16 (II) the date on which the full 

17 amount of the prize has been paid 

18 out. 

19 (ii) ELECTION.—A prize winner may 

20 elect to have the match amount paid to an21 other entity that is continuing the develop22 ment of the winning technology. 

23 (iii) RULES.—The Secretary shall an24 nounce the rules for receiving the match in 

25 the notice required by section 3(b)(2). 


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1 (D) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall 

2 award a prize under this paragraph only when 

3 a registered participant has met the objective 

4 criteria established for the prize pursuant to 

5 subsection (c) and announced pursuant to sec6 tion 3(b)(2). 

7 (E) TOTAL AMOUNT OF FUNDS.— 

8 (i) FEDERAL FUNDS.—Not more than 

9 $10,000,000 in Federal funds may be used 

10 for the prize award under this paragraph. 

11 (ii) MATCHING FUNDS.—As a condi12 tion of entering into an agreement under 

13 section 3(c), the administering entity shall 

14 seek to raise $40,000,000 in non-Federal 

15 funds toward the matching award under 

16 this paragraph. 

17 (c) CRITERIA.—In establishing the criteria required 

18 by this Act, the Secretary shall consult with— 

19 (1) the Hydrogen Technical and Fuel Cell Advi20 sory Committee of the Department; 

21 (2) other Federal agencies, including the Na22 tional Science Foundation; and 

23 (3) private organizations, including professional 

24 societies, industry associations, the National AcadVerDate Aug 31 2005 09:55 May 16, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2796.IS S2796

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1 emy of Sciences, and the National Academy of Engi2 neering. 

3 (d) JUDGES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—For each prize competition, 

5 the Secretary shall assemble a panel of qualified 

6 judges to select the 1 or more winners on the basis 

7 of the criteria established under subsection (c). 

8 (2) INCLUSIONS.—Judges for each prize com9 petition shall include individuals from outside the 

10 Department, including from the private sector. 

11 (3) PROHIBITIONS.—A judge may not— 

12 (A) have personal or financial interests in, 

13 or be an employee, officer, director, or agent of, 

14 any entity that is a registered participant in the 

15 prize competition for which the judge will serve 

16 as a judge; or 

17 (B) have a familial or financial relationship 

18 with an individual who is a registered partici19 pant in the prize competition for which the 

20 judge will serve as a judge. 

21 SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY. 

22 To be eligible to win a prize under this Act, an indi23 vidual or entity— 


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1 (1) shall have complied with all the require2 ments in accordance with the Federal Register no3 tice required under section 3(b)(2); 

4 (2) in the case of a private entity, shall be in5 corporated in and maintain a primary place of busi6 ness in the United States; 

7 (3) in the case of an individual (whether par8 ticipating singly or in a group), shall be a citizen of, 

9 or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent resi10 dence in, the United States; and 

11 (4) shall not be a Federal entity, a Federal em12 ployee acting within the scope of employment, or an 

13 employee of a national laboratory acting within the 

14 scope of employment. 

15 SEC. 6. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the 

17 Federal Government shall not, by virtue of offering or 

18 awarding a prize under this Act, be entitled to any intellec19 tual property rights derived as a consequence of, or direct 

20 relation to, the participation by a registered participant 

21 in a competition authorized by this Act. 

22 (b) NEGOTIATION OF LICENSES PERMITTED.—This 

23 section does not prevent the Federal Government from ne24 gotiating a license for the use of intellectual property de25 veloped for a prize competition under this Act. 


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1 SEC. 7. LIABILITY. 

2 (a) WAIVER OF LIABILITY.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of participa4 tion in a competition under this Act, the Secretary 

5 may require registered participants to waive claims 

6 against the Federal Government and the admin7 istering entity (except claims for willful misconduct) 

8 for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, 

9 revenue, or profits arising from the participation of 

10 the registered participants in a competition under 

11 this Act. 

12 (2) NOTICE REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall 

13 provide notice of any waiver required under this sub14 section in the notice required by section 3(b)(2). 

15 (3) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary may not re16 quire a registered participant to waive claims 

17 against the administering entity arising out of the 

18 unauthorized use or disclosure by the administering 

19 entity of the intellectual property, trade secrets, or 

20 confidential business information of the registered 

21 participant. 

22 (b) LIABILITY INSURANCE.— 

23 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—As a condition of partici24 pation in a competition under this Act, a registered 

25 participant shall be required to obtain liability insur26 ance or demonstrate financial responsibility, in 


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1 amounts determined by the Secretary, for claims 

2 by— 

3 (A) a third party for death, bodily injury, 

4 or property damage or loss resulting from an 

5 activity carried out in connection with participa6 tion in a competition under this Act; and 

7 (B) the Federal Government for damage or 

8 loss to Government property resulting from 

9 such an activity. 

10 (2) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT INSURED.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Govern12 ment shall be named as an additional insured 

13 under the insurance policy of a registered par14 ticipant required under paragraph (1)(A). 

15 (B) MANDATORY INDEMNIFICATION.—As a 

16 condition of participation in a competition 

17 under this Act, a registered participant shall be 

18 required to agree to indemnify the Federal Gov19 ernment against third party claims for damages 

20 arising from or related to competition activities. 

21 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 (1) AWARDS.—There are authorized to be ap24 propriated to the Secretary to carry out this Act for 

25 the period of fiscal years 2007 through 2016— 


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1 (A) $20,000,000 for awards described in 

2 section 4(a)(1); 

3 (B) $20,000,000 for awards described in 

4 section 4(a)(2); and 

5 (C) $10,000,000 for the award described 

6 in section 4(a)(3). 

7 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—In addition to the 

8 amounts authorized in paragraph (1), there are au9 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for the 

10 administrative costs of carrying out this Act 

11 $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 

12 2016. 

13 (b) CARRYOVER OF FUNDS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Funds appropriated for 

15 prize awards under this Act— 

16 (A) shall remain available until expended; 

17 and 

18 (B) may be transferred, reprogrammed, or 

19 expended for other purposes only after the expi20 ration of 10 fiscal years after the fiscal year for 

21 which the funds were originally appropriated. 

22 (2) RELATION TO OTHER LAW.—No provision 

23 in this Act permits obligation or payment of funds 

24 in violation of section 1341 of title 31, United States 


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1 Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Anti-Deficiency 

2 Act’’). 

3 SEC. 9. MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT. 

4 The Secretary shall ensure that funds provided under 

5 this Act will be used only to supplement, and not to sup6 plant, Federal research and development programs. 

7 SEC. 10. SUNSET. 

8 The authority provided by this Act shall terminate 

9 on September 30, 2017. 

Æ 


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