II 

Calendar No. 404 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2503 

[Report No. 115–241] 

To establish Department of Energy policy for science and energy research 

and development programs, and reform National Laboratory management 

and technology transfer programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 6, 2018 

Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 

Natural Resources 

MAY 9, 2018 

Reported by Ms. MURKOWSKI, without amendment 

A BILL 

To establish Department of Energy policy for science and 

energy research and development programs, and reform 

National Laboratory management and technology transfer programs, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—LABORATORY MODERNIZATION AND TECHNOLOGY 

TRANSFER 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. Inclusion of early stage technology demonstration in authorized technology transfer activities. 

Sec. 103. Sense of Congress on accelerating energy innovation. 

Sec. 104. Restoration of laboratory directed research and development program. 

Sec. 105. Research grants database. 

Sec. 106. Technology transfer and transitions assessment. 

Sec. 107. Agreements for commercializing technology pilot program. 

Sec. 108. Short-term cost-share pilot program. 

TITLE II—DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY RESEARCH COORDINATION 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Protection of information. 

Sec. 203. Crosscutting research and development. 

Sec. 204. Strategic research portfolio analysis and coordination plan. 

Sec. 205. Strategy for facilities and infrastructure. 

Sec. 206. Energy Innovation Hubs. 

TITLE III—DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OFFICE OF SCIENCE 

POLICY 

Sec. 301. Short title. 

Sec. 302. Mission. 

Sec. 303. Basic energy sciences. 

Sec. 304. Advanced scientific computing research. 

Sec. 305. High-energy physics. 

Sec. 306. Biological and environmental research. 

Sec. 307. Fusion energy. 

Sec. 308. Nuclear physics. 

Sec. 309. Science laboratories infrastructure program. 

TITLE IV—NUCLEAR ENERGY INNOVATION CAPABILITIES 

Sec. 401. Short title. 

Sec. 402. Nuclear energy innovation capabilities. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

2 means the Department of Energy. 

3 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

4 the Director of the Office of Science of the Depart5 ment, except as otherwise indicated. 

6 (3) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na7 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given that term 

8 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

9 U.S.C. 15801). 

10 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

11 the Secretary of Energy. 

12 TITLE I—LABORATORY MODER13 NIZATION AND TECHNOLOGY 

14 TRANSFER 

15 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

16 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Laboratory Mod17 ernization and Technology Transfer Act’’. 

18 SEC. 102. INCLUSION OF EARLY STAGE TECHNOLOGY DEM19 ONSTRATION IN AUTHORIZED TECHNOLOGY 

20 TRANSFER ACTIVITIES. 

21 Section 1001 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

22 U.S.C. 16391) is amended— 

23 (1) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub24 section (h); and 


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1 (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(g) EARLY STAGE TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRA4 TION.—The Secretary shall permit the directors of the Na5 tional Laboratories to use funds authorized to support 

6 technology transfer within the Department to carry out 

7 early stage and precommercial technology demonstration 

8 activities to remove technology barriers that limit private 

9 sector interest and demonstrate potential commercial ap10 plications of any research and technologies arising from 

11 National Laboratory activities.’’. 

12 SEC. 103. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ACCELERATING ENERGY 

13 INNOVATION. 

14 It is the sense of Congress that— 

15 (1) although important progress has been made 

16 in cost reduction and deployment of clean energy 

17 technologies, accelerating clean energy innovation 

18 will help meet critical competitiveness, energy secu19 rity, and environmental goals; 

20 (2) accelerating the pace of clean energy inno21 vation in the United States calls for— 

22 (A) supporting existing research and devel23 opment programs at the Department and the 

24 world-class National Laboratories; 


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1 (B) exploring and developing new path2 ways for innovators, investors, and decision3 makers to leverage the resources of the Depart4 ment for addressing the challenges and com5 parative strengths of geographic regions; and 

6 (C) recognizing the financial constraints of 

7 the Department, regularly reviewing clean en8 ergy programs to ensure that taxpayer invest9 ments are maximized; 

10 (3) the energy supply, demand, policies, mar11 kets, and resource options of the United States vary 

12 by geographic region; 

13 (4) a regional approach to innovation can 

14 bridge the gaps between local talent, institutions, 

15 and industries to identify opportunities and convert 

16 United States investment into domestic companies; 

17 and 

18 (5) Congress, the Secretary, and energy indus19 try participants should advance efforts that promote 

20 international, domestic, and regional cooperation on 

21 the research and development of energy innovations 

22 that— 

23 (A) provide clean, affordable, and reliable 

24 energy for everyone; 

25 (B) promote economic growth; 


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1 (C) are critical for energy security; and 

2 (D) are sustainable without government 

3 support. 

4 SEC. 104. RESTORATION OF LABORATORY DIRECTED RE5 SEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

7 (b), the Secretary shall ensure that laboratory operating 

8 contractors do not allocate costs of general and adminis9 trative overhead to laboratory directed research and devel10 opment. 

11 (b) EXCEPTION FOR NATIONAL SECURITY LABORA12 TORIES.—This section shall not apply to the national secu13 rity laboratories with respect to which section 3119 of the 

14 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 

15 (Public Law 114–328) applies. 

16 SEC. 105. RESEARCH GRANTS DATABASE. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish and 

18 maintain a public database, accessible on the website of 

19 the Department, that contains a searchable listing of each 

20 unclassified research and development project contract, 

21 grant, cooperative agreement, task order for a federally 

22 funded research and development center, or other trans23 action administered by the Department. 

24 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—Each listing described in sub25 section (a) shall include, at a minimum, for each listed 


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1 project, the Department office carrying out the project, 

2 the project name, an abstract or summary of the project, 

3 funding levels, project duration, contractor or grantee 

4 name (including the names of any subcontractors), and 

5 expected objectives and milestones. 

6 (c) RELEVANT LITERATURE AND PATENTS.—The 

7 Secretary shall provide information through the public 

8 database established under subsection (a) on relevant lit9 erature and patents that are associated with each research 

10 and development project contract, grant, or cooperative 

11 agreement, or other transaction, of the Department. 

12 SEC. 106. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND TRANSITIONS AS13 SESSMENT. 

14 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

15 of this Act, and as often as the Secretary determines to 

16 be necessary thereafter, the Secretary shall transmit to the 

17 appropriate committees of Congress a report that includes 

18 recommended changes to the policy of the Department and 

19 legislative changes to section 1001 of the Energy Policy 

20 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16391) to improve the ability of 

21 the Department to successfully transfer new energy tech22 nologies to the private sector. 


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1 SEC. 107. AGREEMENTS FOR COMMERCIALIZING TECH2 NOLOGY PILOT PROGRAM. 

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

4 Agreements for Commercializing Technology pilot pro5 gram of the Department, as announced by the Secretary 

6 on December 8, 2011, in accordance with this section. 

7 (b) TERMS.—Each agreement entered into pursuant 

8 to the pilot program referred to in subsection (a) shall 

9 provide to the contractor of the applicable National Lab10 oratory, to the maximum extent determined to be appro11 priate by the Secretary, increased authority to negotiate 

12 contract terms, such as intellectual property rights, pay13 ment structures, performance guarantees, and multiparty 

14 collaborations. 

15 (c) ELIGIBILITY.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any director of a National 

17 Laboratory may enter into an agreement pursuant 

18 to the pilot program referred to in subsection (a). 

19 (2) AGREEMENTS WITH NON-FEDERAL ENTI20 TIES.—To carry out paragraph (1) and subject to 

21 paragraph (3), the Secretary shall permit the direc22 tors of the National Laboratories to execute agree23 ments with a non-Federal entity, including a non24 Federal entity already receiving Federal funding 

25 that will be used to support activities under agree26 ments executed pursuant to paragraph (1), provided 


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1 that such funding is solely used to carry out the 

2 purposes of the Federal award. 

3 (3) RESTRICTION.—The requirements of chap4 ter 18 of title 35, United States Code (commonly 

5 known as the ‘‘Bayh-Dole Act’’) shall apply if— 

6 (A) the agreement is a funding agreement 

7 (as that term is defined in section 201 of that 

8 title); and 

9 (B) at least one of the parties to the fund10 ing agreement is eligible to receive rights under 

11 that chapter. 

12 (d) SUBMISSION TO SECRETARY.—Each affected di13 rector of a National Laboratory shall submit to the Sec14 retary, with respect to each agreement entered into under 

15 this section— 

16 (1) a summary of information relating to the 

17 relevant project; 

18 (2) the total estimated costs of the project; 

19 (3) estimated commencement and completion 

20 dates of the project; and 

21 (4) other documentation determined to be ap22 propriate by the Secretary. 

23 (e) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall require the 

24 contractor of the affected National Laboratory to certify 


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1 that each activity carried out under a project for which 

2 an agreement is entered into under this section— 

3 (1) is not in direct competition with the private 

4 sector; and 

5 (2) does not present, or minimizes, any appar6 ent conflict of interest, and avoids or neutralizes any 

7 actual conflict of interest, as a result of the agree8 ment under this section. 

9 (f) EXTENSION.—The pilot program referred to in 

10 subsection (a) shall be extended until September 30, 2019. 

11 (g) REPORTS.— 

12 (1) OVERALL ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 60 

13 days after the date described in subsection (f), the 

14 Secretary, in coordination with directors of the Na15 tional Laboratories, shall submit to the appropriate 

16 committees of Congress a report that— 

17 (A) assesses the overall effectiveness of the 

18 pilot program referred to in subsection (a); 

19 (B) identifies opportunities to improve the 

20 effectiveness of the pilot program; 

21 (C) assesses the potential for program ac22 tivities to interfere with the responsibilities of 

23 the National Laboratories to the Department; 

24 and 


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1 (D) provides a recommendation regarding 

2 the future of the pilot program. 

3 (2) TRANSPARENCY.—The Secretary, in coordi4 nation with directors of the National Laboratories, 

5 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con6 gress an annual report that accounts for all 

7 incidences of, and provides a justification for, non8 Federal entities using funds derived from a Federal 

9 contract or award to carry out agreements pursuant 

10 to this section. 

11 SEC. 108. SHORT-TERM COST-SHARE PILOT PROGRAM. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 988(b) of the Energy Pol13 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352(b)) is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Except as 

15 provided in paragraphs (2) and (3)’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘Except as provided in paragraphs (2), (3), and 

17 (4)’’; and 

18 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(4) EXEMPTION FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGH20 ER EDUCATION AND OTHER NONPROFIT INSTITU21 TIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) shall 

23 not apply to a research or development activity 

24 performed by an institution of higher education 

25 or nonprofit institution (as defined in section 4 


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1 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation 

2 Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703)). 

3 ‘‘(B) TERMINATION DATE.—The exemp4 tion under subparagraph (A) shall apply during 

5 the 2-year period beginning on the date of en6 actment of this paragraph.’’. 

7 (b) REPORTS.— 

8 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—As soon as practicable 

9 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec10 retary shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

11 Congress a report that describes the use of cost12 sharing waivers by the Department under section 

13 988(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

14 16352(b)) during the 2-year period ending on the 

15 date of enactment of this Act. 

16 (2) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Annually during the 2- 

17 year period beginning on the date of enactment of 

18 this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appro19 priate committees of Congress a report that de20 scribes the use of cost-sharing waivers by the De21 partment under section 988(b) of the Energy Policy 

22 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352(b)) during the period 

23 covered by the report. 


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1 TITLE II—DEPARTMENT OF EN2 ERGY RESEARCH COORDINA3 TION 

4 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Energy 

6 Research Coordination Act’’. 

7 SEC. 202. PROTECTION OF INFORMATION. 

8 Section 5012 of the America Competes Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 16538) is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ‘‘subsection 

11 (n)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (o)(1)’’; 

12 (2) by redesignating subsection (n) as sub13 section (o); and 

14 (3) by inserting after subsection (m) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(n) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.—The following 

17 types of information collected by ARPA–E from recipients 

18 of financial assistance awards shall be considered commer19 cial and financial information obtained from a person and 

20 privileged or confidential and not subject to disclosure 

21 under section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States Code: 

22 ‘‘(1) Plans for commercialization of technologies 

23 developed under the award, including business plans, 

24 technology-to-market plans, market studies, and cost 

25 and performance models. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Investments provided to an awardee from 

2 third parties (such as venture capital firms, hedge 

3 funds, and private equity firms), including amounts 

4 and the percentage of ownership of the awardee pro5 vided in return for the investments. 

6 ‘‘(3) Additional financial support that the 

7 awardee— 

8 ‘‘(A) plans to or has invested into the tech9 nology developed under the award; or 

10 ‘‘(B) is seeking from third parties. 

11 ‘‘(4) Revenue from the licensing or sale of new 

12 products or services resulting from research con13 ducted under the award.’’. 

14 SEC. 203. CROSSCUTTING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use the capa16 bilities of the Department to identify strategic opportuni17 ties for collaborative research, development, demonstra18 tion, and commercial application of innovative science and 

19 technologies. 

20 (b) EXISTING PROGRAMS; COORDINATION OF ACTIVI21 TIES.—To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary 

22 shall seek— 

23 (1) to leverage existing programs of the Depart24 ment; and 


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1 (2) to consolidate and coordinate activities 

2 throughout the Department to promote collaboration 

3 and crosscutting approaches within programs of the 

4 Department. 

5 (c) ADDITIONAL ACTIONS.—The Secretary shall— 

6 (1) prioritize activities that use all affordable 

7 domestic resources; 

8 (2) develop a planning, evaluation, and tech9 nical assessment framework for setting objective 

10 long-term strategic goals and evaluating progress 

11 that— 

12 (A) ensures integrity and independence; 

13 and 

14 (B) provides the flexibility to adapt to 

15 market dynamics; 

16 (3) ensure that activities shall be undertaken in 

17 a manner that does not duplicate other activities 

18 within the Department or other Federal Government 

19 activities; and 

20 (4) identify programs that may be more effec21 tively left to the States, industry, nongovernmental 

22 organizations, institutions of higher education, or 

23 other stakeholders. 


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1 SEC. 204. STRATEGIC RESEARCH PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS 

2 AND COORDINATION PLAN. 

3 The Energy Policy Act of 2005 is amended by strik4 ing section 994 (42 U.S.C. 16358) and inserting the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 994. STRATEGIC RESEARCH PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS 

7 AND COORDINATION PLAN. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall periodically 

9 review all of the science and technology activities of the 

10 Department in a strategic framework that takes into ac11 count— 

12 ‘‘(1) the frontiers of science to which the De13 partment can contribute; 

14 ‘‘(2) the national needs relevant to the statu15 tory missions of the Department; and 

16 ‘‘(3) global energy dynamics. 

17 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION ANALYSIS AND PLAN.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the review under 

19 subsection (a), the Secretary shall develop a plan to 

20 improve coordination and collaboration in research, 

21 development, demonstration, and commercial appli22 cation activities across organizational boundaries of 

23 the Department. 

24 ‘‘(2) PLAN CONTENTS.—The plan developed 

25 under paragraph (1) shall describe— 


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1 ‘‘(A) crosscutting scientific and technical 

2 issues and research questions that span more 

3 than one program or major office of the De4 partment; 

5 ‘‘(B) ways in which the applied technology 

6 programs of the Department are coordinating 

7 activities and addressing the questions referred 

8 to in subparagraph (A); 

9 ‘‘(C) ways in which the technical inter10 change within the Department, particularly be11 tween the Office of Science and the applied 

12 technology programs, could be enhanced, in13 cluding ways in which the research agendas of 

14 the Office of Science and the applied programs 

15 could better interact and assist each other; 

16 ‘‘(D) ways in which the Secretary would 

17 ensure that the overall research agenda of the 

18 Department includes, in addition to funda19 mental, curiosity-driven research, fundamental 

20 research related to topics of concern to the ap21 plied programs, and applications in Depart22 mental technology programs of research results 

23 generated by fundamental, curiosity-driven re24 search; 


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1 ‘‘(E) critical assessments of any ongoing 

2 programs that have experienced subpar per3 formance or cost overruns of 10 percent or 

4 more over one or more years; 

5 ‘‘(F) any activities that may be more effec6 tively left to the States, industry, nongovern7 mental organizations, institutions of higher edu8 cation, or other stakeholders; and 

9 ‘‘(G) detailed evaluations and proposals for 

10 innovation hubs, institutes, and research cen11 ters of the Department, including— 

12 ‘‘(i) an affirmation that the hubs, in13 stitutes, and research centers will— 

14 ‘‘(I) advance the mission of the 

15 Department; and 

16 ‘‘(II) prioritize research, develop17 ment, and demonstration; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) an affirmation that any hubs, in19 stitutes, or research centers that are estab20 lished or renewed within the Office of 

21 Science are consistent with the mission of 

22 the Office of Science described in sub23 section (c) of section 209 of the Depart24 ment of Energy Organization Act (42 

25 U.S.C. 7139). 


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1 ‘‘(c) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Every 4 years, the 

2 Secretary shall submit to Congress— 

3 ‘‘(1) the results of the review under subsection 

4 (a); and 

5 ‘‘(2) the coordination plan under subsection 

6 (b).’’. 

7 SEC. 205. STRATEGY FOR FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUC8 TURE. 

9 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 993 of the Energy Pol10 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16357) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking the section heading and insert12 ing the following: ‘‘STRATEGY FOR FACILITIES

13 AND INFRASTRUCTURE’’; and 

14 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘2008’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘2018’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

17 in section 1(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is amend18 ed by striking the item relating to section 993 and insert19 ing the following: 

‘‘Sec. 993. Strategy for facilities and infrastructure.’’. 

20 SEC. 206. ENERGY INNOVATION HUBS. 

21 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) ADVANCED ENERGY TECHNOLOGY.—The 

23 term ‘‘advanced energy technology’’ means— 

24 (A) an innovative technology— 


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1 (i) that produces energy from solar, 

2 wind, geothermal, biomass, tidal, wave, 

3 ocean, or other renewable energy resources; 

4 (ii) that produces nuclear energy; 

5 (iii) for carbon capture and sequestra6 tion; 

7 (iv) that enables advanced vehicles, 

8 vehicle components, and related tech9 nologies that result in significant energy 

10 savings; 

11 (v) that generates, transmits, distrib12 utes, uses, or stores energy more efficiently 

13 than conventional technologies, including 

14 through Smart Grid technologies; or 

15 (vi) that enhances the energy inde16 pendence and security of the United States 

17 by enabling improved or expanded supply 

18 and production of domestic energy re19 sources, including coal, oil, and natural 

20 gas; 

21 (B) a research, development, demonstra22 tion, or commercial application activity nec23 essary to ensure the long-term, secure, and sus24 tainable supply of an energy-critical element; or 


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1 (C) any other innovative energy technology 

2 area identified by the Secretary. 

3 (2) HUB.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Hub’’ 

5 means an Energy Innovation Hub established 

6 under this section. 

7 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘Hub’’ in8 cludes any Energy Innovation Hub in existence 

9 on the date of enactment of this Act. 

10 (3) QUALIFYING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘quali11 fying entity’’ means— 

12 (A) an institution of higher education; 

13 (B) an appropriate State or Federal entity, 

14 including a federally funded research and devel15 opment center of the Department; 

16 (C) a nongovernmental organization with 

17 expertise in advanced energy technology re18 search, development, demonstration, or com19 mercial application; or 

20 (D) any other relevant entity the Secretary 

21 determines appropriate. 

22 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAM.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

24 out a program to enhance the economic, environ25 mental, and energy security of the United States by 


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1 making awards to consortia for establishing and op2 erating hubs, to be known as ‘‘Energy Innovation 

3 Hubs’’, to conduct and support, at, if practicable, 

4 one centralized location, multidisciplinary, collabo5 rative research, development, demonstration, and 

6 commercial application of advanced energy tech7 nologies. 

8 (2) TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOCUS.—The 

9 Secretary shall designate for each Hub a unique ad10 vanced energy technology or basic research focus. 

11 (3) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall en12 sure the coordination of, and avoid unnecessary du13 plication of, the activities of each Hub with the ac14 tivities of— 

15 (A) other research entities of the Depart16 ment, including the National Laboratories, the 

17 Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy, 

18 and Energy Frontier Research Centers; and 

19 (B) industry. 

20 (c) APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

21 (1) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive an 

22 award for the establishment and operation of a Hub 

23 under subsection (b)(1), a consortium shall— 

24 (A) be composed of not fewer than two 

25 qualifying entities; 


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1 (B) operate subject to a binding agree2 ment, entered into by each member of the con3 sortium, that documents— 

4 (i) the proposed partnership agree5 ment, including the governance and man6 agement structure of the Hub; 

7 (ii) measures the consortium will un8 dertake to enable cost-effective implemen9 tation of activities under the program de10 scribed in subsection (b)(1); and 

11 (iii) a proposed budget, including fi12 nancial contributions from non-Federal 

13 sources; and 

14 (C) operate as a nonprofit organization. 

15 (2) APPLICATION.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—A consortium seeking 

17 to establish and operate a Hub under sub18 section (b)(1) shall submit to the Secretary an 

19 application at such time, in such manner, and 

20 containing such information as the Secretary 

21 may require, including a detailed description of 

22 each element of the consortium agreement re23 quired under paragraph (1)(B). 

24 (B) REQUIREMENT.—If the consortium 

25 members will not be located at one centralized 


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1 location, the application under subparagraph 

2 (A) shall include a communications plan that 

3 ensures close coordination and integration of 

4 Hub activities. 

5 (3) SELECTION.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall se7 lect consortia for awards for the establishment 

8 and operation of Hubs through a competitive 

9 selection process. 

10 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting con11 sortia under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

12 shall consider— 

13 (i) the information disclosed by the 

14 consortium under this subsection; and 

15 (ii) any existing facilities a consortium 

16 will provide for Hub activities. 

17 (d) TERM.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—An award made to a Hub 

19 under this section shall be for a period of not more 

20 than 5 years, subject to the availability of appropria21 tions, after which the award may be renewed, sub22 ject to a rigorous merit review. 

23 (2) EXISTING HUBS.—A Hub already in exist24 ence on, or undergoing a renewal process on, the 

25 date of enactment of this Act— 


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1 (A) may continue to receive support during 

2 the 5-year period beginning on the date of es3 tablishment of that Hub; and 

4 (B) shall be eligible for renewal of that 

5 support at the end of that 5-year period. 

6 (e) HUB OPERATIONS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Hub shall conduct or 

8 provide for multidisciplinary, collaborative research, 

9 development, demonstration, and commercial appli10 cation of advanced energy technologies within the 

11 technology development focus designated under sub12 section (b)(2). 

13 (2) ACTIVITIES.—Each Hub shall— 

14 (A) encourage collaboration and commu15 nication among the member qualifying entities 

16 of the consortium and awardees; 

17 (B) develop and publish proposed plans 

18 and programs on a publicly accessible website; 

19 (C) submit an annual report to the De20 partment summarizing the activities of the 

21 Hub, including— 

22 (i) detailing organizational expendi23 tures; and 

24 (ii) describing each project under25 taken by the Hub; and 


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1 (D) monitor project implementation and 

2 coordination. 

3 (3) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—Each Hub shall 

4 maintain conflict of interest procedures, consistent 

5 with the conflict of interest procedures of the De6 partment. 

7 (4) PROHIBITION ON CONSTRUCTION.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

9 subparagraph (B)— 

10 (i) no funds provided under this sec11 tion may be used for construction of new 

12 buildings or facilities for Hubs; and 

13 (ii) construction of new buildings or 

14 facilities shall not be considered as part of 

15 the non-Federal share of a Hub cost-shar16 ing agreement. 

17 (B) TEST BED AND RENOVATION EXCEP18 TION.—Nothing in this paragraph prohibits the 

19 use of funds provided under this section or non20 Federal cost share funds for the construction of 

21 a test bed or renovations to existing buildings 

22 or facilities for the purposes of research if the 

23 Secretary determines that the test bed or ren24 ovations are limited to a scope and scale nec25 essary for the research to be conducted. 


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1 TITLE III—DEPARTMENT OF EN2 ERGY OFFICE OF SCIENCE 

3 POLICY 

4 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Energy 

6 Office of Science Policy Act’’. 

7 SEC. 302. MISSION. 

8 Section 209 of the Department of Energy Organiza9 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 7139) is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following: 

11 ‘‘(c) MISSION.—The mission of the Office of Science 

12 shall be the delivery of scientific discoveries, capabilities, 

13 and major scientific tools to transform the understanding 

14 of nature and to advance the energy, economic, and na15 tional security of the United States.’’. 

16 SEC. 303. BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES. 

17 (a) ENERGY FRONTIER RESEARCH CENTERS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall carry out 

19 a program to provide awards, on a competitive, 

20 merit-reviewed basis, to multi-institutional collabora21 tions or other appropriate entities to conduct funda22 mental and use-inspired energy research to accel23 erate scientific breakthroughs. 


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1 (2) COLLABORATIONS.—A collaboration receiv2 ing an award under this subsection may include mul3 tiple types of institutions and private sector entities. 

4 (3) SELECTION AND DURATION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—A collaboration under 

6 this subsection shall be selected for a period of 

7 4 years. 

8 (B) EXISTING CENTERS.—An Energy 

9 Frontier Research Center in existence and sup10 ported by the Director on the date of enactment 

11 of this Act may continue to receive support for 

12 a period of 4 years beginning on the date of es13 tablishment of that center. 

14 (C) REAPPLICATION.—After the end of the 

15 period described in subparagraph (A) or (B), as 

16 applicable, a recipient of an award may reapply 

17 for selection on a competitive, merit-reviewed 

18 basis. 

19 (D) TERMINATION.—Consistent with the 

20 existing authorities of the Department, the Di21 rector may terminate an underperforming cen22 ter for cause during the performance period. 

23 (4) NO FUNDING FOR CONSTRUCTION.—No 

24 funding provided pursuant to this subsection may be 


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1 used for the construction of new buildings or facili2 ties. 

3 (b) BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES USER FACILITIES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall carry out 

5 a program for the development, construction, oper6 ation, and maintenance of national user facilities. 

7 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—To the maximum extent 

8 practicable, the national user facilities developed, 

9 constructed, operated, or maintained under para10 graph (1) shall serve the needs of the Department, 

11 industry, the academic community, and other rel12 evant entities to create and examine materials and 

13 chemical processes for the purpose of improving the 

14 competitiveness of the United States. 

15 (3) INCLUDED FACILITIES.—The national user 

16 facilities developed, constructed, operated, or main17 tained under paragraph (1) shall include— 

18 (A) x-ray light sources; 

19 (B) neutron sources; 

20 (C) nanoscale science research centers; and 

21 (D) such other facilities as the Director 

22 considers appropriate, consistent with section 

23 209 of the Department of Energy Organization 

24 Act (42 U.S.C. 7139). 


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1 (c) ACCELERATOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOP2 MENT.—The Director shall carry out research and devel3 opment on advanced accelerator and storage ring tech4 nologies relevant to the development of basic energy 

5 sciences user facilities, in consultation with the High En6 ergy Physics and Nuclear Physics programs of the Office 

7 of Science. 

8 (d) SOLAR FUELS RESEARCH INITIATIVE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 973 of the Energy 

10 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16313) is amended 

11 to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 973. SOLAR FUELS RESEARCH INITIATIVE. 

13 ‘‘(a) INITIATIVE.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

15 out a research initiative, to be known as the ‘Solar 

16 Fuels Research Initiative’ (referred to in this section 

17 as the ‘Initiative’) to expand theoretical and funda18 mental knowledge of photochemistry, electro19 chemistry, biochemistry, and materials science useful 

20 for the practical development of experimental sys21 tems to convert solar energy to chemical energy. 

22 ‘‘(2) LEVERAGING.—In carrying out programs 

23 and activities under the Initiative, the Secretary 

24 shall leverage expertise and resources from— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the Basic Energy Sciences Program 

2 and the Biological and Environmental Research 

3 Program of the Office of Science; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the Office of Energy Efficiency and 

5 Renewable Energy. 

6 ‘‘(3) TEAMS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the 

8 Initiative, the Secretary shall organize activities 

9 among multidisciplinary teams to leverage, to 

10 the maximum extent practicable, expertise from 

11 the National Laboratories, institutions of higher 

12 education, and the private sector. 

13 ‘‘(B) GOALS.—The multidisciplinary teams 

14 described in subparagraph (A) shall pursue ag15 gressive, milestone-driven, basic research goals. 

16 ‘‘(C) RESOURCES.—The Secretary shall 

17 provide sufficient resources to the multidisci18 plinary teams described in subparagraph (A) to 

19 achieve the goals described in subparagraph (B) 

20 over a period of time to be determined by the 

21 Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary 

23 may organize additional activities under this sub24 section through Energy Frontier Research Centers, 


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1 Energy Innovation Hubs, or other organizational 

2 structures. 

3 ‘‘(b) ARTIFICIAL PHOTOSYNTHESIS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

5 out under the Initiative a program to support re6 search needed to bridge scientific barriers to, and 

7 discover knowledge relevant to, artificial photosyn8 thetic systems. 

9 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—As part of the program de10 scribed in paragraph (1)— 

11 ‘‘(A) the Director of the Office of Basic 

12 Energy Sciences shall support basic research to 

13 pursue distinct lines of scientific inquiry, in14 cluding— 

15 ‘‘(i) photoinduced production of hy16 drogen and oxygen from water; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) the sustainable photoinduced re18 duction of carbon dioxide to fuel products 

19 including hydrocarbons, alcohols, carbon 

20 monoxide, and natural gas; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the Assistant Secretary for Energy 

22 Efficiency and Renewable Energy shall support 

23 translational research, development, and valida24 tion of physical concepts developed under the 

25 program. 


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1 ‘‘(3) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—The Secretary 

2 shall review activities carried out under the program 

3 described in paragraph (1) to determine the achieve4 ment of technical milestones. 

5 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITION.—No funds allocated to the 

6 program described in paragraph (1) may be obli7 gated or expended for commercial application of en8 ergy technology. 

9 ‘‘(c) BIOCHEMISTRY, REPLICATION OF NATURAL

10 PHOTOSYNTHESIS, AND RELATED PROCESSES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

12 out under the Initiative a program to support re13 search needed to replicate natural photosynthetic 

14 processes by use of artificial photosynthetic compo15 nents and materials. 

16 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—As part of the program de17 scribed in paragraph (1)— 

18 ‘‘(A) the Director of the Office of Basic 

19 Energy Sciences shall support basic research to 

20 expand fundamental knowledge to replicate nat21 ural synthesis processes, including— 

22 ‘‘(i) the photoinduced reduction of 

23 dinitrogen to ammonia; 

24 ‘‘(ii) the absorption of carbon dioxide 

25 from ambient air; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) molecular-based charge separa2 tion and storage; 

3 ‘‘(iv) photoinitiated electron transfer; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(v) catalysis in biological or bio6 mimetic systems; 

7 ‘‘(B) the Associate Director of Biological 

8 and Environmental Research shall support sys9 tems biology and genomics approaches to un10 derstand genetic and physiological pathways 

11 connected to photosynthetic mechanisms; and 

12 ‘‘(C) the Assistant Secretary for Energy 

13 Efficiency and Renewable Energy shall support 

14 translational research, development, and valida15 tion of physical concepts developed under the 

16 program. 

17 ‘‘(3) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—The Secretary 

18 shall review activities carried out under the program 

19 described in paragraph (1) to determine the achieve20 ment of technical milestones. 

21 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITION.—No funds allocated to the 

22 program described in paragraph (1) may be obli23 gated or expended for commercial application of en24 ergy technology.’’. 


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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 

2 contents for the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is 

3 amended by striking the item relating to section 973 

4 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 973. Solar fuels research initiative.’’. 

5 (e) ELECTRICITY STORAGE RESEARCH INITIATIVE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 975 of the Energy 

7 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16315) is amended 

8 to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 975. ELECTRICITY STORAGE RESEARCH INITIATIVE. 

10 ‘‘(a) INITIATIVE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

12 out a research initiative, to be known as the ‘Elec13 tricity Storage Research Initiative’ (referred to in 

14 this section as the ‘Initiative’)— 

15 ‘‘(A) to expand theoretical and funda16 mental knowledge to control, store, and con17 vert— 

18 ‘‘(i) electrical energy to chemical en19 ergy; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) chemical energy to electrical en21 ergy; and 

22 ‘‘(B) to support scientific inquiry into the 

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1 ing crystalline and amorphous solids, polymers, 

2 and organic and aqueous liquids. 

3 ‘‘(2) LEVERAGING.—In carrying out programs 

4 and activities under the Initiative, the Secretary 

5 shall leverage expertise and resources from— 

6 ‘‘(A) the Basic Energy Sciences Program, 

7 the Advanced Scientific Computing Research 

8 Program, and the Biological and Environmental 

9 Research Program of the Office of Science; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the Office of Energy Efficiency and 

11 Renewable Energy. 

12 ‘‘(3) TEAMS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the 

14 Initiative, the Secretary shall organize activities 

15 among multidisciplinary teams to leverage, to 

16 the maximum extent practicable, expertise from 

17 the National Laboratories, institutions of higher 

18 education, and the private sector. 

19 ‘‘(B) GOALS.—The multidisciplinary teams 

20 described in subparagraph (A) shall pursue ag21 gressive, milestone-driven, basic research goals. 

22 ‘‘(C) RESOURCES.—The Secretary shall 

23 provide sufficient resources to the multidisci24 plinary teams described in subparagraph (A) to 

25 achieve the goals described in subparagraph (B) 


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1 over a period of time to be determined by the 

2 Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary 

4 may organize additional activities under this sub5 section through Energy Frontier Research Centers, 

6 Energy Innovation Hubs, or other organizational 

7 structures. 

8 ‘‘(b) MULTIVALENT SYSTEMS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

10 out under the Initiative a program to support re11 search needed to bridge scientific barriers to, and 

12 discover knowledge relevant to, multivalent ion mate13 rials in electric energy storage systems. 

14 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—As part of the program de15 scribed in paragraph (1)— 

16 ‘‘(A) the Director of the Office of Basic 

17 Energy Sciences shall investigate electro18 chemical properties and the dynamics of mate19 rials, including charge transfer phenomena and 

20 mass transport in materials; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the Assistant Secretary for Energy 

22 Efficiency and Renewable Energy shall support 

23 translational research, development, and valida24 tion of physical concepts developed under the 

25 program. 


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1 ‘‘(3) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—The Secretary 

2 shall review activities carried out under the program 

3 described in paragraph (1) to determine the achieve4 ment of technical milestones. 

5 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITION.—No funds allocated to the 

6 program described in paragraph (1) may be obli7 gated or expended for commercial application of en8 ergy technology. 

9 ‘‘(c) ELECTROCHEMISTRY MODELING AND SIMULA10 TION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

12 out under the Initiative a program to support re13 search to model and simulate organic electrolytes, 

14 including the static and dynamic electrochemical be15 havior and phenomena of organic electrolytes at the 

16 molecular and atomic level in monovalent and multi17 valent systems. 

18 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—As part of the program de19 scribed in paragraph (1)— 

20 ‘‘(A) the Director of the Office of Basic 

21 Energy Sciences, in coordination with the Asso22 ciate Director of Advanced Scientific Com23 puting Research, shall support the development 

24 of high performance computational tools 

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1 mize the effectiveness of current and projected 

2 high performance computing systems; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the Assistant Secretary for Energy 

4 Efficiency and Renewable Energy shall support 

5 translational research, development, and valida6 tion of physical concepts developed under the 

7 program. 

8 ‘‘(3) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—The Secretary 

9 shall review activities carried out under the program 

10 described in paragraph (1) to determine the achieve11 ment of technical milestones. 

12 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITION.—No funds allocated to the 

13 program described in paragraph (1) may be obli14 gated or expended for commercial application of en15 ergy technology. 

16 ‘‘(d) MESOSCALE ELECTROCHEMISTRY.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

18 out under the Initiative a program to support re19 search needed to reveal electrochemistry in confined 

20 mesoscale spaces, including scientific discoveries rel21 evant to— 

22 ‘‘(A) bio-electrochemistry and electro23 chemical energy conversion and storage in con24 fined spaces; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the dynamics of the phenomena de2 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—As part of the program de4 scribed in paragraph (1)— 

5 ‘‘(A) the Director of the Office of Basic 

6 Energy Sciences and the Associate Director of 

7 Biological and Environmental Research shall in8 vestigate phenomena of mesoscale electro9 chemical confinement for the purpose of repli10 cating and controlling new electrochemical be11 havior; and 

12 ‘‘(B) the Assistant Secretary for Energy 

13 Efficiency and Renewable Energy shall support 

14 translational research, development, and valida15 tion of physical concepts developed under the 

16 program. 

17 ‘‘(3) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—The Secretary 

18 shall review activities carried out under the program 

19 described in paragraph (1) to determine the achieve20 ment of technical milestones. 

21 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITION.—No funds allocated to the 

22 program described in paragraph (1) may be obli23 gated or expended for commercial application of en24 ergy technology.’’. 


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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 

2 contents for the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is 

3 amended by striking the item relating to section 975 

4 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 975. Electricity storage research initiative.’’. 

5 SEC. 304. ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING RESEARCH. 

6 (a) AMERICAN SUPER COMPUTING LEADERSHIP.— 

7 (1) RENAMING OF ACT.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 1 of the De9 partment of Energy High-End Computing Revi10 talization Act of 2004 (15 U.S.C. 5501 note; 

11 Public Law 108–423) is amended by striking 

12 ‘‘Department of Energy High-End Computing 

13 Revitalization Act of 2004’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘American Super Computing Leadership Act of 

15 2017’’. 

16 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

17 976(a)(1) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

18 U.S.C. 16316(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘De19 partment of Energy High-End Computing Revi20 talization Act of 2004’’ and inserting ‘‘Amer21 ican Super Computing Leadership Act of 

22 2017’’. 

23 (2) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2 of the American 

24 Super Computing Leadership Act of 2017 (15 

25 U.S.C. 5541) is amended— 


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1 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

2 through (5) as paragraphs (3) through (6), re3 spectively; 

4 (B) by striking paragraph (1) and insert5 ing the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘Department’ 

7 means the Department of Energy. 

8 ‘‘(2) EXASCALE COMPUTING.—The term 

9 ‘exascale computing’ means computing through the 

10 use of a computing machine that performs near or 

11 above 10 to the 18th power operations per second.’’; 

12 and 

13 (C) in paragraph (6) (as redesignated by 

14 subparagraph (A)), by striking ‘‘, acting 

15 through the Director of the Office of Science of 

16 the Department of Energy’’. 

17 (3) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY HIGH-END COM18 PUTING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.— 

19 Section 3 of the American Super Computing Leader20 ship Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 5542) is amended— 

21 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘pro22 gram’’ and inserting ‘‘coordinated program 

23 across the Department’’; 


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1 (B) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘, 

2 which may’’ and all that follows through ‘‘archi3 tectures’’; and 

4 (C) by striking subsection (d) and insert5 ing the following: 

6 ‘‘(d) EXASCALE COMPUTING PROGRAM.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall con8 duct a research program (referred to in this sub9 section as the ‘Program’) for exascale computing, in10 cluding the development of two or more exascale 

11 computing machine architectures, to promote the 

12 missions of the Department. 

13 ‘‘(2) EXECUTION.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the 

15 Program, the Secretary shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) establish two or more National 

17 Laboratory partnerships with industry 

18 partners and institutions of higher edu19 cation for the research and development of 

20 two or more exascale computing architec21 tures across all applicable organizations of 

22 the Department; 

23 ‘‘(ii) conduct mission-related codesign 

24 activities in developing the exascale com25 puting architectures under clause (i); 


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1 ‘‘(iii) develop such advancements in 

2 hardware and software technology as are 

3 required to fully realize the potential of an 

4 exascale production system in addressing 

5 Department target applications and solving 

6 scientific problems involving predictive 

7 modeling and simulation and large scale 

8 data analytics and management; 

9 ‘‘(iv) explore the use of exascale com10 puting technologies to advance a broad 

11 range of science and engineering; and 

12 ‘‘(v) provide, as appropriate, on a 

13 competitive, merit-reviewed basis, access 

14 for researchers in industries in the United 

15 States, institutions of higher education, 

16 National Laboratories, and other Federal 

17 agencies to the exascale computing systems 

18 developed pursuant to clause (i). 

19 ‘‘(B) SELECTION OF PARTNERS.—The Sec20 retary shall select the partnerships with the 

21 computing facilities of the Department under 

22 subparagraph (A) through a competitive, peer23 review process. 

24 ‘‘(3) CODESIGN AND APPLICATION DEVELOP25 MENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

2 ‘‘(i) carry out the Program through 

3 an integration of applications, computer 

4 science, applied mathematics, and com5 puter hardware architecture using the 

6 partnerships established pursuant to para7 graph (2) to ensure that, to the maximum 

8 extent practicable, two or more exascale 

9 computing machine architectures are capa10 ble of solving Department target applica11 tions and broader scientific problems, in12 cluding predictive modeling and simulation 

13 and large scale data analytics and manage14 ment; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) conduct outreach programs to in16 crease the readiness for the use of such 

17 platforms by domestic industries, including 

18 manufacturers. 

19 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—The Secretary shall sub20 mit to Congress a report describing— 

21 ‘‘(i) how the integration under sub22 paragraph (A) is furthering application 

23 science data and computational workloads 

24 across application interests, including na25 tional security, material science, physical 


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1 science, cybersecurity, biological science, 

2 the Materials Genome and BRAIN Initia3 tives of the President, advanced manufac4 turing, and the national electric grid; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) the roles and responsibilities of 

6 National Laboratories and industry, in7 cluding the definition of the roles and re8 sponsibilities within the Department to en9 sure an integrated program across the De10 partment. 

11 ‘‘(4) PROJECT REVIEW.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The exascale architec13 tures developed pursuant to partnerships estab14 lished pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be re15 viewed through a project review process. 

16 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 

17 after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

18 the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 

19 on— 

20 ‘‘(i) the results of the review con21 ducted under subparagraph (A); and 

22 ‘‘(ii) the coordination and manage23 ment of the Program to ensure an inte24 grated research program across the De25 partment. 


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1 ‘‘(5) ANNUAL REPORTS.—At the time of the 

2 budget submission of the Department for each fiscal 

3 year, the Secretary, in consultation with the mem4 bers of the partnerships established pursuant to 

5 paragraph (2), shall submit to Congress a report 

6 that describes funding for the Program as a whole 

7 by functional element of the Department and critical 

8 milestones.’’. 

9 (b) HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING AND NET10 WORKING RESEARCH.—The Director shall support re11 search in high-performance computing and networking rel12 evant to energy applications, including modeling, simula13 tion, and advanced data analytics for basic and applied 

14 energy research programs carried out by the Secretary. 

15 (c) APPLIED MATHEMATICS AND SOFTWARE DEVEL16 OPMENT FOR HIGH-END COMPUTING SYSTEMS.—The Di17 rector shall carry out activities to develop, test, and sup18 port— 

19 (1) mathematics, models, and algorithms for 

20 complex systems and programming environments; 

21 and 

22 (2) tools, languages, and operating systems for 

23 high-end computing systems (as defined in section 2 

24 of the American Super Computing Leadership Act of 

25 2017 (15 U.S.C. 5541)). 


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1 SEC. 305. HIGH-ENERGY PHYSICS. 

2 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con3 gress that— 

4 (1) the Director should incorporate the findings 

5 and recommendations of the report of the Particle 

6 Physics Project Prioritization Panel entitled ‘‘Build7 ing for Discovery: Strategic Plan for U.S. Particle 

8 Physics in the Global Context’’ into the planning 

9 process of the Department; and 

10 (2) the nations that lead in particle physics by 

11 hosting international teams dedicated to a common 

12 scientific goal attract the world’s best talent and in13 spire future generations of physicists and tech14 nologists. 

15 (b) INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION.—The Direc16 tor, as practicable and in coordination with other appro17 priate Federal agencies as necessary, shall ensure the ac18 cess of United States researchers to the most advanced 

19 accelerator facilities and research capabilities in the world, 

20 including the Large Hadron Collider. 

21 (c) NEUTRINO RESEARCH.—The Director shall carry 

22 out research activities on rare decay processes and the na23 ture of the neutrino, which may include collaborations 

24 with the National Science Foundation or international col25 laborations. 


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1 (d) DARK ENERGY AND DARK MATTER RE2 SEARCH.—The Director shall carry out research activities 

3 on the nature of dark energy and dark matter, which may 

4 include collaborations with the National Aeronautics and 

5 Space Administration or the National Science Foundation; 

6 or international collaborations. 

7 SEC. 306. BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH. 

8 (a) BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS.—The Director shall carry 

9 out research and development activities in fundamental, 

10 structural, computational, and systems biology to increase 

11 systems-level understanding of the complex biological sys12 tems, which may include activities— 

13 (1) to accelerate breakthroughs and new knowl14 edge that would enable the cost-effective, sustainable 

15 production of— 

16 (A) biomass-based liquid transportation 

17 fuels; 

18 (B) bioenergy; and 

19 (C) biobased materials; 

20 (2) to improve understanding of the global car21 bon cycle, including processes for removing carbon 

22 dioxide from the atmosphere, through photosynthesis 

23 and other biological processes, for sequestration and 

24 storage; and 


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1 (3) to understand the biological mechanisms 

2 used to transform, immobilize, or remove contami3 nants from subsurface environments. 

4 (b) LIMITATION FOR RESEARCH FUNDS.—The Di5 rector shall not approve new climate science-related initia6 tives without making a determination that such work is 

7 well-coordinated with any relevant work carried out by 

8 other Federal agencies. 

9 (c) LOW-DOSE RADIATION RESEARCH PROGRAM.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall carry out 

11 a research program on low-dose radiation. 

12 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program is 

13 to enhance the scientific understanding of, and re14 duce uncertainties associated with, the effects of ex15 posure to low-dose radiation to inform improved 

16 risk-management methods. 

17 SEC. 307. FUSION ENERGY. 

18 (a) FUSION MATERIALS RESEARCH AND DEVELOP19 MENT.—As part of the activities authorized in section 978 

20 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16318)— 

21 (1) the Director, in coordination with the As22 sistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy of the Depart23 ment, shall carry out research and development ac24 tivities to identify, characterize, and demonstrate 


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1 materials that can endure the neutron, plasma, and 

2 heat fluxes expected in a fusion power system; and 

3 (2) the Director shall provide an assessment 

4 of— 

5 (A) the need for one or more facilities that 

6 can examine and test potential fusion and next 

7 generation fission materials and other enabling 

8 technologies relevant to the development of fu9 sion power; and 

10 (B) whether a single new facility that sub11 stantially addresses magnetic fusion and next 

12 generation fission materials research needs is 

13 feasible, in conjunction with the expected capa14 bilities of facilities operational as of the date of 

15 enactment of this Act. 

16 (b) TOKAMAK RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—The 

17 Director shall support research and development activities 

18 and facility operations to optimize the tokamak approach 

19 to fusion energy. 

20 (c) INERTIAL FUSION ENERGY RESEARCH AND DE21 VELOPMENT.—The Director shall support research and 

22 development activities for inertial fusion for energy appli23 cations. 

24 (d) ALTERNATIVE AND ENABLING CONCEPTS.—The 

25 Director shall support research and development activities 


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1 and facility operations at institutions of higher education, 

2 National Laboratories, and private facilities in the United 

3 States for a portfolio of alternative and enabling fusion 

4 energy concepts that may provide solutions to significant 

5 challenges to the establishment of a commercial magnetic 

6 fusion power plant, prioritized based on the ability of the 

7 United States to play a leadership role in the international 

8 fusion research community. 

9 (e) COORDINATION WITH ARPA–E.—The Director 

10 shall coordinate with the Director of the Advanced Re11 search Projects Agency–Energy (referred to in this sub12 section as ‘‘ARPA–E’’) to— 

13 (1) assess the potential for any fusion energy 

14 project supported by ARPA–E to represent a prom15 ising approach to a commercially viable fusion power 

16 plant; 

17 (2) determine whether the results of any fusion 

18 energy project supported by ARPA–E merit the sup19 port of follow-on research activities carried out by 

20 the Office of Science; and 

21 (3) avoid the unintentional duplication of activi22 ties. 

23 (f) FAIRNESS IN COMPETITION FOR SOLICITATIONS

24 FOR INTERNATIONAL PROJECT ACTIVITIES.—Section 33 

25 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2053) is 


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1 amended by inserting before the first sentence the fol2 lowing: ‘‘In this section, with respect to international re3 search projects, the term ‘private facilities or laboratories’ 

4 means facilities or laboratories located in the United 

5 States.’’. 

6 (g) IDENTIFICATION OF PRIORITIES.— 

7 (1) REPORT.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

9 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec10 retary shall submit to Congress a report on the 

11 fusion energy research and development activi12 ties that the Department proposes to carry out 

13 over the 10-year period following the date of 

14 the report under not fewer than 3 realistic 

15 budget scenarios, including a scenario based on 

16 3-percent annual growth in the non-ITER por17 tion of the budget for fusion energy research 

18 and development activities. 

19 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The report required 

20 under subparagraph (A) shall— 

21 (i) identify specific areas of fusion en22 ergy research and enabling technology de23 velopment in which the United States can 

24 and should establish or solidify a lead in 


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1 the global fusion energy development ef2 fort; 

3 (ii) identify priorities for initiation of 

4 facility construction and facility decommis5 sioning under each of the three budget sce6 narios described in subparagraph (A); and 

7 (iii) assess the ability of the fusion 

8 workforce of the United States to carry out 

9 the activities identified under clauses (i) 

10 and (ii), including the adequacy of pro11 grams at institutions of higher education 

12 in the United States to train the leaders 

13 and workers of the next generation of fu14 sion energy researchers. 

15 (2) PROCESS.—In order to develop the report 

16 required under paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall 

17 leverage best practices and lessons learned from the 

18 process used to develop the most recent report of the 

19 Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel of the 

20 High Energy Physics Advisory Panel. 

21 (3) REQUIREMENT.—No member of the Fusion 

22 Energy Sciences Advisory Committee shall be ex23 cluded from participating in developing or voting on 

24 final approval of the report required under para25 graph (1)(A). 


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1 SEC. 308. NUCLEAR PHYSICS. 

2 (a) ISOTOPE DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION FOR

3 RESEARCH APPLICATIONS.—The Director— 

4 (1) may carry out a program for the production 

5 of isotopes, including the development of techniques 

6 to produce isotopes, that the Secretary determines 

7 are needed for research, medical, industrial, or re8 lated purposes; and 

9 (2) shall ensure that isotope production activi10 ties carried out under the program under this para11 graph do not compete with private industry unless 

12 the Director determines that critical national inter13 ests require the involvement of the Federal Govern14 ment. 

15 (b) RENAMING OF THE RARE ISOTOPE ACCEL16 ERATOR.—Section 981 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

17 (42 U.S.C. 16321) is amended— 

18 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘RARE

19 ISOTOPE ACCELERATOR’’ and inserting ‘‘FACIL20 ITY FOR RARE ISOTOPE BEAMS’’; and 

21 (2) by striking ‘‘Rare Isotope Accelerator’’ each 

22 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Facility for Rare Iso23 tope Beams’’. 


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1 SEC. 309. SCIENCE LABORATORIES INFRASTRUCTURE PRO2 GRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall carry out a 

4 program to improve the safety, efficiency, and mission 

5 readiness of infrastructure at laboratories of the Office of 

6 Science. 

7 (b) INCLUSIONS.—The program under subsection (a) 

8 shall include projects— 

9 (1) to renovate or replace space that does not 

10 meet research needs; 

11 (2) to replace facilities that are no longer cost 

12 effective to renovate or operate; 

13 (3) to modernize utility systems to prevent fail14 ures and ensure efficiency; 

15 (4) to remove excess facilities to allow safe and 

16 efficient operations; and 

17 (5) to construct modern facilities to conduct ad18 vanced research in controlled environmental condi19 tions. 

20 TITLE IV—NUCLEAR ENERGY 

21 INNOVATION CAPABILITIES 

22 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

23 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Nuclear Energy Inno24 vation Capabilities Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 402. NUCLEAR ENERGY INNOVATION CAPABILITIES. 

2 (a) NUCLEAR ENERGY.—Section 951 of the Energy 

3 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16271) is amended to read 

4 as follows: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 951. NUCLEAR ENERGY. 

6 ‘‘(a) MISSION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

8 out programs of civilian nuclear research, develop9 ment, demonstration, and commercial application, 

10 including activities under this subtitle. 

11 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—The programs carried 

12 out under paragraph (1) shall take into consider13 ation the following objectives: 

14 ‘‘(A) Providing research infrastructure to 

15 promote scientific progress and enable users 

16 from academia, the National Laboratories, and 

17 the private sector to make scientific discoveries 

18 relevant for nuclear, chemical, and materials 

19 science engineering. 

20 ‘‘(B) Maintaining nuclear energy research 

21 and development programs at the National 

22 Laboratories and institutions of higher edu23 cation, including infrastructure at the National 

24 Laboratories and institutions of higher edu25 cation. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Providing the technical means to re2 duce the likelihood of nuclear proliferation. 

3 ‘‘(D) Increasing confidence margins for 

4 public safety of nuclear energy systems. 

5 ‘‘(E) Reducing the environmental impact 

6 of activities relating to nuclear energy. 

7 ‘‘(F) Supporting technology transfer from 

8 the National Laboratories to the private sector. 

9 ‘‘(G) Enabling the private sector to part10 ner with the National Laboratories to dem11 onstrate novel reactor concepts for the purpose 

12 of resolving technical uncertainty associated 

13 with the objectives described in subparagraphs 

14 (A) through (F). 

15 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this subtitle: 

16 ‘‘(1) ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR.—The 

17 term ‘advanced nuclear reactor’ means— 

18 ‘‘(A) a nuclear fission reactor with signifi19 cant improvements over the most recent genera20 tion of nuclear fission reactors, which may in21 clude— 

22 ‘‘(i) inherent safety features; 

23 ‘‘(ii) lower waste yields; 

24 ‘‘(iii) greater fuel utilization; 

25 ‘‘(iv) superior reliability; 


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1 ‘‘(v) resistance to proliferation; 

2 ‘‘(vi) increased thermal efficiency; and 

3 ‘‘(vii) the ability to integrate into elec4 tric and nonelectric applications; or 

5 ‘‘(B) a nuclear fusion reactor. 

6 ‘‘(2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘Commission’ 

7 means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

8 ‘‘(3) FAST NEUTRON.—The term ‘fast neutron’ 

9 means a neutron with kinetic energy above 100 

10 kiloelectron volts. 

11 ‘‘(4) NATIONAL LABORATORY.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

13 subparagraph (B), the term ‘National Labora14 tory’ has the meaning given the term in section 

15 2. 

16 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—With respect to the 

17 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the 

18 Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the 

19 Sandia National Laboratories, the term ‘Na20 tional Laboratory’ means only the civilian ac21 tivities of the laboratory. 

22 ‘‘(5) NEUTRON FLUX.—The term ‘neutron flux’ 

23 means the intensity of neutron radiation measured 

24 as a rate of flow of neutrons applied over an area. 


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1 ‘‘(6) NEUTRON SOURCE.—The term ‘neutron 

2 source’ means a research machine that provides neu3 tron irradiation services for— 

4 ‘‘(A) research on materials sciences and 

5 nuclear physics; and 

6 ‘‘(B) testing of advanced materials, nuclear 

7 fuels, and other related components for reactor 

8 systems.’’. 

9 (b) NUCLEAR ENERGY RESEARCH PROGRAMS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 952 of the Energy 

11 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16272) is amended— 

12 (A) by striking subsection (c); and 

13 (B) by redesignating subsections (d) and 

14 (e) as subsections (c) and (d), respectively. 

15 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

16 641(b)(1) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

17 U.S.C. 16021(b)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

18 942(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 952(c)’’. 

19 (c) ADVANCED FUEL CYCLE INITIATIVE.—Section 

20 953(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

21 16273(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘, acting through the 

22 Director of the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and 

23 Technology,’’. 

24 (d) UNIVERSITY NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ENGINEER25 ING SUPPORT.—Section 954(d)(4) of the Energy Policy 


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1 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16274(d)(4)) is amended by strik2 ing ‘‘as part of a taking into consideration effort that em3 phasizes’’ and inserting ‘‘that emphasize’’. 

4 (e) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CIVILIAN NUCLEAR

5 INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITIES.—Section 955 of the 

6 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16275) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) by striking subsections (c) and (d); and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(c) VERSATILE NEUTRON SOURCE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) MISSION NEED.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than De13 cember 31, 2017, the Secretary shall determine 

14 the mission need for a versatile reactor-based 

15 fast neutron source, which shall operate as a 

16 national user facility. 

17 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATIONS REQUIRED.—In car18 rying out subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 

19 consult with the private sector, institutions of 

20 higher education, the National Laboratories, 

21 and relevant Federal agencies to ensure that 

22 the user facility described in subparagraph (A) 

23 will meet the research needs of the largest prac24 ticable majority of prospective users. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—As soon as practicable 

2 after determining the mission need under paragraph 

3 (1)(A), the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 

4 committees of Congress a detailed plan for the es5 tablishment of the user facility. 

6 ‘‘(3) FACILITY REQUIREMENTS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) CAPABILITIES.—The Secretary shall 

8 ensure that the user facility will provide, at a 

9 minimum, the following capabilities: 

10 ‘‘(i) Fast neutron spectrum irradia11 tion capability. 

12 ‘‘(ii) Capacity for upgrades to accom13 modate new or expanded research needs. 

14 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out 

15 the plan submitted under paragraph (2), the 

16 Secretary shall consider the following: 

17 ‘‘(i) Capabilities that support experi18 mental high-temperature testing. 

19 ‘‘(ii) Providing a source of fast neu20 trons at a neutron flux, higher than that 

21 at which current research facilities operate, 

22 sufficient to enable research for an optimal 

23 base of prospective users. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) Maximizing irradiation flexibility 

2 and irradiation volume to accommodate as 

3 many concurrent users as possible. 

4 ‘‘(iv) Capabilities for irradiation with 

5 neutrons of a lower energy spectrum. 

6 ‘‘(v) Multiple loops for fuels and ma7 terials testing in different coolants. 

8 ‘‘(vi) Additional pre-irradiation and 

9 post-irradiation examination capabilities. 

10 ‘‘(vii) Lifetime operating costs and 

11 lifecycle costs. 

12 ‘‘(4) DEADLINE FOR ESTABLISHMENT.—The 

13 Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 

14 complete construction of, and approve the start of 

15 operations for, the user facility by not later than De16 cember 31, 2025. 

17 ‘‘(5) REPORTING.—The Secretary shall include 

18 in the annual budget request of the Department an 

19 explanation for any delay in the progress of the De20 partment in completing the user facility by the dead21 line described in paragraph (4). 

22 ‘‘(6) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall le23 verage the best practices for management, construc24 tion, and operation of national user facilities from 

25 the Office of Science.’’. 


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1 (f) SECURITY OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES.—Section 

2 956 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16276) 

3 is amended by striking ‘‘, acting through the Director of 

4 the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology,’’. 

5 (g) HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTATION AND SUP6 PORTIVE RESEARCH.—Section 957 of the Energy Policy 

7 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16277) is amended to read as 

8 follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 957. HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTATION AND SUP10 PORTIVE RESEARCH. 

11 ‘‘(a) MODELING AND SIMULATION.—The Secretary 

12 shall carry out a program to enhance the capabilities of 

13 the United States to develop new reactor technologies 

14 through high-performance computation modeling and sim15 ulation techniques. 

16 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION.—In carrying out the program 

17 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall coordinate with 

18 relevant Federal agencies as described by the National 

19 Strategic Computing Initiative established by Executive 

20 Order No. 13702 (80 Fed. Reg. 46177 (July 29, 2015)), 

21 while taking into account the following objectives: 

22 ‘‘(1) Using expertise from the private sector, in23 stitutions of higher education, and the National 

24 Laboratories to develop computational software and 

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1 celerate research and development of advanced nu2 clear reactor systems and reactor systems for space 

3 exploration. 

4 ‘‘(2) Developing computational tools to simulate 

5 and predict nuclear phenomena that may be vali6 dated through physical experimentation. 

7 ‘‘(3) Increasing the utility of the research infra8 structure of the Department by coordinating with 

9 the Advanced Scientific Computing Research pro10 gram within the Office of Science. 

11 ‘‘(4) Leveraging experience from the Energy In12 novation Hub for Modeling and Simulation. 

13 ‘‘(5) Ensuring that new experimental and com14 putational tools are accessible to relevant research 

15 communities, including private sector entities en16 gaged in nuclear energy technology development. 

17 ‘‘(c) SUPPORTIVE RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.—The Sec18 retary shall consider support for additional research activi19 ties to maximize the utility of the research facilities of the 

20 Department, including physical processes— 

21 ‘‘(1) to simulate degradation of materials and 

22 behavior of fuel forms; and 

23 ‘‘(2) for validation of computational tools.’’. 

24 (h) ENABLING NUCLEAR ENERGY INNOVATION.— 

25 Subtitle E of title IX of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 


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1 (42 U.S.C. 16271 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 

2 end the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 958. ENABLING NUCLEAR ENERGY INNOVATION. 

4 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL REACTOR INNOVATION CENTER.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized a pro6 gram to enable the testing and demonstration of re7 actor concepts to be proposed and funded by the pri8 vate sector. 

9 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPATION.—Nothing in this section 

10 shall prevent a private sector entity that has re11 ceived Federal grants from participating in this pro12 gram. 

13 ‘‘(b) TECHNICAL EXPERTISE.—In carrying out the 

14 program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall leverage 

15 the technical expertise of relevant Federal agencies and 

16 the National Laboratories in order to minimize the time 

17 required to enable construction and operation of privately 

18 funded experimental reactors at National Laboratories or 

19 other Department-owned sites. 

20 ‘‘(c) OBJECTIVES.—The reactors described in sub21 section (b) shall operate to meet the following objectives: 

22 ‘‘(1) Enabling physical validation of advanced 

23 nuclear reactor concepts. 

24 ‘‘(2) Resolving technical uncertainty and in25 creasing practical knowledge relevant to safety, resilVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:10 May 10, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2503.RS S2503

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1 ience, security, and functionality of advanced nuclear 

2 reactor concepts. 

3 ‘‘(3) General research and development to im4 prove nascent technologies. 

5 ‘‘(d) SHARING TECHNICAL EXPERTISE.—In carrying 

6 out the program under subsection (a), the Secretary may 

7 enter into a memorandum of understanding with the 

8 Chairman of the Commission in order to share technical 

9 expertise and knowledge through— 

10 ‘‘(1) enabling the testing and demonstration of 

11 advanced nuclear reactor concepts to be proposed 

12 and funded by the private sector; 

13 ‘‘(2) operating a database to store and share 

14 data and knowledge relevant to nuclear science and 

15 engineering between Federal agencies and the pri16 vate sector; 

17 ‘‘(3) developing and testing electric and non18 electric integration and energy conversion systems 

19 relevant to advanced nuclear reactors; 

20 ‘‘(4) leveraging expertise from the Commission 

21 with respect to safety analysis; and 

22 ‘‘(5) enabling technical staff of the Commission 

23 to actively observe and learn about technologies de24 veloped under the program. 


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1 ‘‘(e) AGENCY COORDINATION.—The Chairman of the 

2 Commission and the Secretary shall enter into a memo3 randum of understanding regarding the following: 

4 ‘‘(1) Ensuring that— 

5 ‘‘(A) the Department has sufficient tech6 nical expertise to support the timely research, 

7 development, demonstration, and commercial 

8 application by the civilian nuclear industry of 

9 safe and innovative advanced nuclear reactor 

10 technology; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the Commission has sufficient tech12 nical expertise to support the evaluation of ap13 plications for licenses, permits, and design cer14 tifications and other requests for regulatory ap15 proval for advanced nuclear reactors. 

16 ‘‘(2) The use of computers and software codes 

17 to calculate the behavior and performance of ad18 vanced nuclear reactors based on mathematical mod19 els of the physical behavior of advanced nuclear re20 actors. 

21 ‘‘(3) Ensuring that— 

22 ‘‘(A) the Department maintains and devel23 ops the facilities necessary to enable the timely 

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1 dustry of safe and innovative reactor tech2 nology; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the Commission has access to the fa4 cilities described in subparagraph (A), as need5 ed. 

6 ‘‘(f) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

8 after the date of enactment of the Nuclear Energy 

9 Innovation Capabilities Act of 2017, the Secretary, 

10 in consultation with the National Laboratories, rel11 evant Federal agencies, and other stakeholders, shall 

12 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 

13 report assessing the capabilities of the Department 

14 to authorize, host, and oversee privately funded ex15 perimental advanced nuclear reactors as described in 

16 subsection (b). 

17 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 

18 paragraph (1) shall address— 

19 ‘‘(A) the safety review and oversight capa20 bilities of the Department, including options to 

21 leverage expertise from the Commission and the 

22 National Laboratories; 

23 ‘‘(B) options to regulate privately proposed 

24 and funded experimental reactors hosted by the 

25 Department; 


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1 ‘‘(C) potential sites capable of hosting pri2 vately funded experimental advanced nuclear re3 actors; 

4 ‘‘(D) the efficacy of the available contrac5 tual mechanisms of the Department to partner 

6 with the private sector and Federal agencies, 

7 including cooperative research and development 

8 agreements, strategic partnership projects, and 

9 agreements for commercializing technology; 

10 ‘‘(E) the liability of the Federal Govern11 ment with respect to the disposal of low-level 

12 radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel, or high13 level radioactive waste (as those terms are de14 fined in section 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy 

15 Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101)); 

16 ‘‘(F) the impact on the aggregate inven17 tory in the United States of low-level radio18 active waste, spent nuclear fuel, or high-level 

19 radioactive waste (as those terms are defined in 

20 section 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 

21 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101)); 

22 ‘‘(G) potential cost structures relating to 

23 physical security, decommissioning, liability, 

24 and other long-term project costs; and 


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1 ‘‘(H) other challenges or considerations 

2 identified by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(3) UPDATES.—Once every 2 years, the Sec4 retary shall update relevant provisions of the report 

5 submitted under paragraph (1) and submit to the 

6 appropriate committees of Congress the update. 

7 ‘‘(g) SAVINGS CLAUSES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) LICENSING REQUIREMENT.—Nothing in 

9 this section authorizes the Secretary or any person 

10 to construct or operate a nuclear reactor for the pur11 pose of demonstrating the suitability for commercial 

12 application of the nuclear reactor unless licensed by 

13 the Commission in accordance with section 202 of 

14 the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 

15 5842). 

16 ‘‘(2) FINANCIAL PROTECTION.—Any activity 

17 carried out under this section that involves the risk 

18 of public liability shall be subject to the financial 

19 protection or indemnification requirements of section 

20 170 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 

21 2210) (commonly known as the ‘Price-Anderson 

22 Act’).’’. 

23 (i) BUDGET PLAN.—Subtitle E of title IX of the En24 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16271 et seq.) (as 


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1 amended by subsection (h)) is amended by adding at the 

2 end the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 959. BUDGET PLAN. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

5 date of enactment of the Nuclear Energy Innovation Ca6 pabilities Act of 2017, the Secretary shall submit to the 

7 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen8 ate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

9 of the House of Representatives 2 alternative 10-year 

10 budget plans for civilian nuclear energy research and de11 velopment by the Secretary, as described in subsections 

12 (b) through (d). 

13 ‘‘(b) BUDGET PLAN ALTERNATIVE 1.—One of the 

14 budget plans submitted under subsection (a) shall assume 

15 constant annual funding for 10 years at the appropriated 

16 level for the civilian nuclear energy research and develop17 ment of the Department for fiscal year 2016. 

18 ‘‘(c) BUDGET PLAN ALTERNATIVE 2.—One of the 

19 budget plans submitted under subsection (a) shall be an 

20 unconstrained budget. 

21 ‘‘(d) INCLUSIONS.—Each alternative budget plan 

22 submitted under subsection (a) shall include— 

23 ‘‘(1) a prioritized list of the programs, projects, 

24 and activities of the Department to best support the 


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1 development of advanced nuclear reactor tech2 nologies; 

3 ‘‘(2) realistic budget requirements for the De4 partment to implement sections 955(c), 957, and 

5 958; and 

6 ‘‘(3) the justification of the Department for 

7 continuing or terminating existing civilian nuclear 

8 energy research and development programs.’’. 

9 (j) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The table of con10 tents for the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is amended by 

11 striking the item relating to section 957 and inserting the 

12 following: 

‘‘957. High-performance computation and supportive research. 

‘‘958. Enabling nuclear energy innovation. 

‘‘959. Budget plan.’’. 


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Calendar No. 404 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2503 

[Report No. 115–241] 

A BILL 

To establish Department of Energy policy for 

for other purposes. agement and technology transfer programs, and programs, and reform National Laboratory manscience and energy research and development 

MAY 9, 2018 

Reported without amendment 


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