II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 649 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a hydrogen infrastructure 

finance and innovation pilot program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 2, 2023 

Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. COONS, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. HEINRICH, Ms. 

MURKOWSKI, and Mr. LUJA ́N) introduced the following bill; which was 

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

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a hydrogen 

infrastructure finance and innovation pilot program, and 

for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Hydrogen Infrastruc5 ture Finance and Innovation Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STUDY. 

7 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with 

9 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection AgenVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Mar 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S649.IS S649

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1 cy, the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, 

2 the Administrator of the Energy Information Administra3 tion, and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, 

4 shall conduct a study subject to notice and public com5 ment— 

6 (1) to fully assess and report the potential lay7 out of pipeline corridors, including existing and new 

8 infrastructure, that— 

9 (A) are robust against a range of projected 

10 hydrogen demand futures; and 

11 (B) reflect the potential to site within, or 

12 adjacent to, existing pipeline or other linear in13 frastructure corridors; 

14 (2) to assess the costs associated with each in15 frastructure scenario described in paragraph (1); 

16 (3) to synthesize the results from research, de17 velopment, and demonstration projects on materials 

18 and metallurgy for transporting and storing hydro19 gen and hydrogen-based fuels, such as ammonia; 

20 (4) to determine outstanding questions with re21 gard to research, development, and demonstration of 

22 infrastructure for transporting and storing hydrogen 

23 and hydrogen-based fuels, such as ammonia; 

24 (5) to investigate the behavior and environ25 mental impact of hydrogen leakage in pipelines and 


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1 from geologic storage sites and nongeologic storage 

2 equipment; 

3 (6) to determine best practices for the construc4 tion and maintenance of hydrogen pipelines; 

5 (7) to determine the reduction in carbon inten6 sity at various levels of hydrogen blending into the 

7 natural gas network; and 

8 (8) to establish a framework for the measure9 ment, reporting, and management of hydrogen leaks. 

10 SEC. 3. SUPPORTING HYDROGEN INFRASTRUCTURE AND 

11 REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF HYDROGEN. 

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) BOARD-REGULATED RATES.—The term 

14 ‘‘Board-regulated rates’’ means rates regulated by 

15 the Surface Transportation Board. 

16 (2) COMMISSION-REGULATED RATES.—The 

17 term ‘‘Commission-regulated rates’’ means rates reg18 ulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commis19 sion. 

20 (3) COMMON CARRIER.—The term ‘‘common 

21 carrier’’ means a transportation infrastructure oper22 ator or owner that— 

23 (A) publishes a publicly available tariff 

24 containing the just and reasonable rates, terms, 


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1 and conditions of nondiscriminatory service; 

2 and 

3 (B) holds itself out to provide transpor4 tation services to the public for a fee. 

5 (4) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘eligible 

6 activity’’ means an activity described in subsection 

7 (g)(2) relating to, or carried out in connection with, 

8 an eligible project. 

9 (5) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti10 ty’’ means a corporation, partnership, joint venture, 

11 trust, non-Federal governmental entity, agency, or 

12 instrumentality, or other entity. 

13 (6) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara15 graph (B), the term ‘‘eligible project’’ means an 

16 infrastructure project for hydrogen transpor17 tation, storage, or delivery, including pipeline, 

18 shipping, rail, refueling, or other infrastructure, 

19 or associated equipment, as the Secretary deter20 mines to be appropriate. 

21 (B) INCLUSION OF PIPELINE PROJECTS.— 

22 The term ‘‘eligible project’’ includes a pipeline 

23 project only if the project is for— 


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1 (i) the construction of 1 or more new 

2 pipelines that are capable of handling pure 

3 hydrogen; or 

4 (ii) the retrofitting of 1 or more exist5 ing natural gas pipelines— 

6 (I) to transport a blend of hydro7 gen and natural gas; and 

8 (II) in a manner that will signifi9 cantly increase the capacity of the 

10 pipelines to transport hydrogen, as de11 termined by the Secretary. 

12 (7) ELIGIBLE PROJECT COST.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 

14 project costs’’ means— 

15 (i) the costs of carrying out an eligible 

16 activity; and 

17 (ii) any costs described in subpara18 graph (B) relating to, or incurred in con19 nection with, an eligible project. 

20 (B) COSTS DESCRIBED.—The costs re21 ferred to in subparagraph (A)(ii) are— 

22 (i) the costs of capitalized interest 

23 necessary to meet market requirements, 

24 the costs of reasonably required reserve 

25 funds, capital issuance expenses, and any 


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1 other carrying costs during construction of 

2 the applicable infrastructure; and 

3 (ii) transaction costs associated with 

4 financing an eligible project, including the 

5 cost of legal counsel and technical consult6 ants. 

7 (8) HIFIA PILOT PROGRAM.—The term 

8 ‘‘HIFIA pilot program’’ means the hydrogen infra9 structure finance and innovation pilot program es10 tablished under subsection (b)(1). 

11 (9) LETTER OF INTEREST.—The term ‘‘letter 

12 of interest’’ means a letter submitted by a potential 

13 applicant prior to an application for a grant or a 

14 loan under the HIFIA pilot program that— 

15 (A) is in a format prescribed by the Sec16 retary on the website of the HIFIA pilot pro17 gram; 

18 (B) describes the project and the location, 

19 purpose, and cost of the project; 

20 (C) outlines the proposed financial plan, 

21 including— 

22 (i) the requested grant or loan assist23 ance; and 

24 (ii) the proposed obligor, if applicable; 


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1 (D) provides a status of environmental re2 view; and 

3 (E) provides information regarding satis4 faction of other eligibility requirements of the 

5 HIFIA pilot program. 

6 (10) LOW-INCOME OR DISADVANTAGED COMMU7 NITY.—The term ‘‘low-income or disadvantaged 

8 community’’ means a community (including a city, a 

9 town, a county, and any reasonably isolated and di10 visible segment of a larger municipality) with an an11 nual median household income that is less than 100 

12 percent of the statewide annual median household 

13 income for the State in which the community is lo14 cated, according to the most recent decennial census. 

15 (11) OBLIGOR.—The term ‘‘obligor’’ means an 

16 eligible entity that is liable for payment of the prin17 cipal of, or interest on, a loan under the HIFIA pilot 

18 program. 

19 (12) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

20 means the Secretary of Energy. 

21 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in 

24 consultation with the Federal Energy Regulatory 

25 Commission, the Surface Transportation Board, and 


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1 the Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous 

2 Materials Safety Administration, shall establish a 

3 hydrogen infrastructure finance and innovation pilot 

4 program under which the Secretary shall provide— 

5 (A) financial assistance to eligible entities 

6 for eligible projects through— 

7 (i) grants; or 

8 (ii) long-term, low-cost supplemental 

9 loans; and 

10 (B) technical assistance in accordance with 

11 subsection (l). 

12 (2) COORDINATION WITH HYDROGEN HUBS.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—To ensure that the 

14 HIFIA pilot program is compatible with, and 

15 complementary to, any hydrogen hubs developed 

16 under any other law, the Secretary, to the max17 imum extent practicable and subject to sub18 paragraph (B), shall coordinate the establish19 ment of the HIFIA pilot program with— 

20 (i) any program to support the devel21 opment of hydrogen hubs that is required 

22 to be established under any other law; and 

23 (ii) the development of those hydrogen 

24 hubs. 


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1 (B) TREATMENT.—Coordination with a 

2 hydrogen hub under subparagraph (A) shall 

3 not— 

4 (i) be considered to be a priority cri5 terion in determining whether to provide 

6 assistance for an eligible project under the 

7 HIFIA pilot program; or 

8 (ii) preclude the provision of assist9 ance under the HIFIA pilot program for 

10 another eligible project that— 

11 (I) meets the criteria described in 

12 subsections (d) and (e); and 

13 (II) is an objectively superior 

14 project, as determined by the Sec15 retary. 

16 (c) ELIGIBILITY.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide 

18 financial assistance for an eligible project under the 

19 HIFIA pilot program if— 

20 (A) the eligible entity proposing to carry 

21 out the project submits a letter of interest prior 

22 to submission of an application under para23 graph (2) with respect to the project; and 


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1 (B) the eligible entity and the eligible 

2 project meet all applicable requirements of this 

3 section. 

4 (2) APPLICATIONS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a 

6 grant or a loan under the HIFIA pilot pro7 gram, an eligible entity shall submit to the Sec8 retary an application at such time, in such 

9 manner, and containing such information as the 

10 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

11 (B) ELECTION.— 

12 (i) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity 

13 may elect to apply for a grant, a loan, or 

14 both under the HIFIA pilot program. 

15 (ii) DECISION.—The Secretary shall 

16 have discretion to award any mix of grants 

17 and loans under the HIFIA pilot program 

18 as the Secretary determines to be appro19 priate, including with respect to each eligi20 ble entity that applies for both a grant and 

21 a loan. 

22 (C) APPLICATION PROCESSING PROCE23 DURES.— 

24 (i) NOTICE OF COMPLETE APPLICA25 TION.—Not later than 30 days after the 


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1 date of receipt of an application under this 

2 paragraph, the Secretary shall provide to 

3 the applicant a written notice describing 

4 whether— 

5 (I) the application is complete; or 

6 (II) additional information or 

7 materials are needed to complete the 

8 application. 

9 (ii) APPROVAL OR DENIAL OF APPLI10 CATION.—Not later than 90 days after the 

11 date of issuance of a written notice under 

12 clause (i), the Secretary shall provide to 

13 the applicant a written notice informing 

14 the applicant whether the Secretary has 

15 approved or disapproved the application. 

16 (d) PRIORITY.—In selecting eligible projects to re17 ceive a grant or a loan under the HIFIA pilot program, 

18 the Secretary shall give priority to eligible projects that— 

19 (1) will provide greater net impact in avoiding 

20 or reducing emissions of greenhouse gases; and 

21 (2) are sited in a manner that minimizes envi22 ronmental disturbance and other siting concerns, in23 cluding by being sited within, or adjacent to, existing 

24 pipeline or other linear infrastructure corridors. 


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1 (e) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting eligible projects 

2 to receive a grant or a loan under the HIFIA pilot pro3 gram, the Secretary, to the maximum extent practicable, 

4 shall select projects that— 

5 (1) are large-capacity, common carrier infra6 structure; 

7 (2) enable geographical diversity in associated 

8 projects and supply chains to produce, use, or store 

9 hydrogen, with the goal of enabling projects in all 

10 major regions of the United States with current hy11 drogen demand and potential future hydrogen de12 mand; 

13 (3) aid in creating economies of scale for hydro14 gen uptake in applications requiring an affordable 

15 solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; 

16 (4) will generate the greatest benefit to low-in17 come or disadvantaged communities; and 

18 (5) will— 

19 (A) maximize creation or retention of jobs 

20 in the United States; and 

21 (B) provide the highest job quality. 

22 (f) LOANS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the HIFIA 

24 pilot program, the Secretary shall make loans to eliVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Mar 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S649.IS S649

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1 gible entities, the proceeds of which shall be used to 

2 finance eligible projects. 

3 (2) INTEREST RATE.—The interest rate of a 

4 loan under the HIFIA pilot program shall be not 

5 less than the interest rate on United States Treas6 ury securities of a similar maturity to the maturity 

7 of the loan on the date of closing on the loan. 

8 (3) MATURITY DATE.—The final maturity date 

9 of a loan provided under the HIFIA pilot program 

10 shall be the date that is 30 years after the date of 

11 substantial completion of the applicable eligible 

12 project. 

13 (4) REPAYMENT.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es15 tablish a repayment schedule for each loan pro16 vided under the HIFIA pilot program. 

17 (B) COMMENCEMENT.—Repayment of a 

18 loan provided under the HIFIA pilot program 

19 shall commence on the date of substantial com20 pletion of the applicable eligible project for 

21 which the loan was provided. 

22 (C) DEFERRAL OF REPAYMENT.—If, at 

23 any time during the 5-year period beginning on 

24 the date of substantial completion of an eligible 

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1 cient revenues in excess of reasonable and nec2 essary operating expenses to pay the scheduled 

3 loan repayments of principal and interest on the 

4 loan, the Secretary may allow the borrower to 

5 defer repayment of the loan until the end of 

6 that 5-year period. 

7 (5) REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 (A) CREDITWORTHINESS.— 

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—Each obligor with 

10 respect to a loan provided for an eligible 

11 project under the HIFIA pilot program 

12 shall be creditworthy, such that there ex13 ists a reasonable prospect of repayment of 

14 the principal and interest on the loan, as 

15 determined by the Secretary under clause 

16 (ii). 

17 (ii) REASONABLE PROSPECT OF RE18 PAYMENT.—The Secretary shall base a de19 termination of whether there is a reason20 able prospect of repayment under clause (i) 

21 on a comprehensive evaluation of whether 

22 the obligor has a reasonable prospect of re23 paying the loan for the eligible project, in24 cluding evaluation of— 


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1 (I) the forecast of noncontractual 

2 cash flows supported by market pro3 jections from reputable sources, as de4 termined by the Secretary, and cash 

5 sweeps or other structural enhance6 ments; 

7 (II) the strength of the contrac8 tual terms of an eligible project (if 

9 available for the applicable market 

10 segment); 

11 (III) the projected financial 

12 strength of the obligor— 

13 (aa) at the time of loan 

14 close; and 

15 (bb) throughout the loan 

16 term, including after the project 

17 is completed; 

18 (IV) the financial strength of the 

19 investors and strategic partners of the 

20 obligor, if applicable; and 

21 (V) other financial metrics and 

22 analyses that are relied on by the pri23 vate lending community and nation24 ally recognized credit rating agencies, 


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1 as determined to be appropriate by 

2 the Secretary. 

3 (B) DEDICATED SOURCE OF REVENUE.— 

4 An eligible project for which a loan is provided 

5 under the HIFIA pilot program shall have a 

6 dedicated source of revenue separate from any 

7 financial assistance received under the HIFIA 

8 pilot program. 

9 (g) USE OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—A grant or loan provided 

11 under the HIFIA pilot program may be used for any 

12 eligible project costs. 

13 (2) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—A grant or loan 

14 provided under the HIFIA pilot program may be 

15 used to carry out any of the following activities with 

16 respect to an eligible project: 

17 (A) Development phase activities, includ18 ing— 

19 (i) planning; 

20 (ii) preliminary engineering; 

21 (iii) design; 

22 (iv) environmental review; 

23 (v) revenue forecasting; and 

24 (vi) other preconstruction activities. 


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1 (B) Construction, reconstruction, rehabili2 tation, and replacement activities, including the 

3 training of construction personnel in handling 

4 and safety. 

5 (C) Acquisition of— 

6 (i) real property or an interest in real 

7 property; or 

8 (ii) equipment. 

9 (D) Environmental mitigation activities. 

10 (E) Activities relating to construction con11 tingencies. 

12 (h) FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section su14 persedes the applicability of any other requirement 

15 under Federal law (including regulations). 

16 (2) NEPA.—Federal assistance may only be 

17 provided under the HIFIA pilot program for a 

18 project that has received an environmental categor19 ical exclusion, a finding of no significant impact, or 

20 a record of decision under the National Environ21 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

22 (i) LEAK DETECTION.—Each eligible entity that re23 ceives a loan or grant under the HIFIA pilot program 

24 shall conduct— 


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1 (1) a hydrogen leakage monitoring, reporting, 

2 and verification (also known as ‘‘MRV’’) program; 

3 and 

4 (2) a hydrogen leak detection and repair (also 

5 known as ‘‘LDAR’’) program. 

6 (j) MAXIMUM FEDERAL INVOLVEMENT.—The max7 imum Federal share of an eligible project for which a loan 

8 is provided under the HIFIA pilot program shall not ex9 ceed 80 percent of the eligible costs of the project. 

10 (k) AMENDMENT.—Section 1703(b)(3) of the Energy 

11 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16513(b)(3)) is amended 

12 by striking ‘‘Hydrogen fuel’’ and inserting ‘‘Hydrogen 

13 technologies applicable to 1 or more end-use sectors, such 

14 as power generation, transportation, aviation, storage, in15 dustrial, and chemicals, including hydrogen fuel’’. 

16 (l) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Na18 tional Laboratories may provide technical assistance 

19 under the HIFIA pilot program to assess the grad20 ing and readiness of existing infrastructure to trans21 port, store, or deliver hydrogen with respect to infor22 mal State and regional planning for investments in 

23 that grading and readiness. 


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1 (2) PRIORITY.—In providing technical assist2 ance under paragraph (1), the Secretary and the 

3 National Laboratories shall prioritize— 

4 (A) preexisting infrastructure corridors; 

5 (B) geologic storage potential for hydro6 gen; and 

7 (C) industrial clusters. 

8 (m) REGULATORY ASSESSMENT TO ENCOURAGE HY9 DROGEN TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE DEPLOY10 MENT.—Not later than 270 days after the date of enact11 ment of this Act, each of the Federal Energy Regulatory 

12 Commission, the Surface Transportation Board, and the 

13 Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

14 Safety Administration, in coordination with the Secretary, 

15 shall— 

16 (1) assess jurisdiction over the siting, construc17 tion, safety, and regulation of hydrogen transpor18 tation infrastructure, including, at a minimum, the 

19 blending of hydrogen in natural gas pipelines; 

20 (2) if that assessment indicates that additional 

21 authority is needed to support the deployment of hy22 drogen transportation infrastructure, submit to Con23 gress a report describing the needed authority; and 

24 (3) identify the eligibility of, and process for, 

25 hydrogen transportation infrastructure to receive 


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1 cost recovery under the HIFIA pilot program 

2 through Commission-regulated rates, Board-regu3 lated rates, or other applicable regulated rates, as 

4 appropriate, for the transportation of hydrogen in 

5 interstate commerce. 

6 (n) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

7 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

8 out the HIFIA pilot program $100,000,000 for each of 

9 fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 

Æ 


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