II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2503 

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 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

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

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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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. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

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

4 means the Department of Energy. 

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

6 the Director of the Office of Science of the Depart7 ment, except as otherwise indicated. 


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1 (3) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na2 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given that term 

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

4 U.S.C. 15801). 

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

6 the Secretary of Energy. 

7 TITLE I—LABORATORY MODER8 NIZATION AND TECHNOLOGY 

9 TRANSFER 

10 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

11 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Laboratory Mod12 ernization and Technology Transfer Act’’. 

13 SEC. 102. INCLUSION OF EARLY STAGE TECHNOLOGY DEM14 ONSTRATION IN AUTHORIZED TECHNOLOGY 

15 TRANSFER ACTIVITIES. 

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

17 U.S.C. 16391) is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub19 section (h); and 

20 (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(g) EARLY STAGE TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRA23 TION.—The Secretary shall permit the directors of the Na24 tional Laboratories to use funds authorized to support 

25 technology transfer within the Department to carry out 


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1 early stage and precommercial technology demonstration 

2 activities to remove technology barriers that limit private 

3 sector interest and demonstrate potential commercial ap4 plications of any research and technologies arising from 

5 National Laboratory activities.’’. 

6 SEC. 103. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ACCELERATING ENERGY 

7 INNOVATION. 

8 It is the sense of Congress that— 

9 (1) although important progress has been made 

10 in cost reduction and deployment of clean energy 

11 technologies, accelerating clean energy innovation 

12 will help meet critical competitiveness, energy secu13 rity, and environmental goals; 

14 (2) accelerating the pace of clean energy inno15 vation in the United States calls for— 

16 (A) supporting existing research and devel17 opment programs at the Department and the 

18 world-class National Laboratories; 

19 (B) exploring and developing new path20 ways for innovators, investors, and decision21 makers to leverage the resources of the Depart22 ment for addressing the challenges and com23 parative strengths of geographic regions; and 

24 (C) recognizing the financial constraints of 

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1 ergy programs to ensure that taxpayer invest2 ments are maximized; 

3 (3) the energy supply, demand, policies, mar4 kets, and resource options of the United States vary 

5 by geographic region; 

6 (4) a regional approach to innovation can 

7 bridge the gaps between local talent, institutions, 

8 and industries to identify opportunities and convert 

9 United States investment into domestic companies; 

10 and 

11 (5) Congress, the Secretary, and energy indus12 try participants should advance efforts that promote 

13 international, domestic, and regional cooperation on 

14 the research and development of energy innovations 

15 that— 

16 (A) provide clean, affordable, and reliable 

17 energy for everyone; 

18 (B) promote economic growth; 

19 (C) are critical for energy security; and 

20 (D) are sustainable without government 

21 support. 

22 SEC. 104. RESTORATION OF LABORATORY DIRECTED RE23 SEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 

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

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


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1 contractors do not allocate costs of general and adminis2 trative overhead to laboratory directed research and devel3 opment. 

4 (b) EXCEPTION FOR NATIONAL SECURITY LABORA5 TORIES.—This section shall not apply to the national secu6 rity laboratories with respect to which section 3119 of the 

7 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 

8 (Public Law 114–328) applies. 

9 SEC. 105. RESEARCH GRANTS DATABASE. 

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

11 maintain a public database, accessible on the website of 

12 the Department, that contains a searchable listing of each 

13 unclassified research and development project contract, 

14 grant, cooperative agreement, task order for a federally 

15 funded research and development center, or other trans16 action administered by the Department. 

17 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—Each listing described in sub18 section (a) shall include, at a minimum, for each listed 

19 project, the Department office carrying out the project, 

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

21 funding levels, project duration, contractor or grantee 

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

23 expected objectives and milestones. 

24 (c) RELEVANT LITERATURE AND PATENTS.—The 

25 Secretary shall provide information through the public 


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1 database established under subsection (a) on relevant lit2 erature and patents that are associated with each research 

3 and development project contract, grant, or cooperative 

4 agreement, or other transaction, of the Department. 

5 SEC. 106. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND TRANSITIONS AS6 SESSMENT. 

7 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

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

9 be necessary thereafter, the Secretary shall transmit to the 

10 appropriate committees of Congress a report that includes 

11 recommended changes to the policy of the Department and 

12 legislative changes to section 1001 of the Energy Policy 

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

14 the Department to successfully transfer new energy tech15 nologies to the private sector. 

16 SEC. 107. AGREEMENTS FOR COMMERCIALIZING TECH17 NOLOGY PILOT PROGRAM. 

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

19 Agreements for Commercializing Technology pilot pro20 gram of the Department, as announced by the Secretary 

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

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

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

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1 priate by the Secretary, increased authority to negotiate 

2 contract terms, such as intellectual property rights, pay3 ment structures, performance guarantees, and multiparty 

4 collaborations. 

5 (c) ELIGIBILITY.— 

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

7 Laboratory may enter into an agreement pursuant 

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

9 (2) AGREEMENTS WITH NON-FEDERAL ENTI10 TIES.—To carry out paragraph (1) and subject to 

11 paragraph (3), the Secretary shall permit the direc12 tors of the National Laboratories to execute agree13 ments with a non-Federal entity, including a non14 Federal entity already receiving Federal funding 

15 that will be used to support activities under agree16 ments executed pursuant to paragraph (1), provided 

17 that such funding is solely used to carry out the 

18 purposes of the Federal award. 

19 (3) RESTRICTION.—The requirements of chap20 ter 18 of title 35, United States Code (commonly 

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

22 (A) the agreement is a funding agreement 

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

24 title); and 


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1 (B) at least one of the parties to the fund2 ing agreement is eligible to receive rights under 

3 that chapter. 

4 (d) SUBMISSION TO SECRETARY.—Each affected di5 rector of a National Laboratory shall submit to the Sec6 retary, with respect to each agreement entered into under 

7 this section— 

8 (1) a summary of information relating to the 

9 relevant project; 

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

11 (3) estimated commencement and completion 

12 dates of the project; and 

13 (4) other documentation determined to be ap14 propriate by the Secretary. 

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

16 contractor of the affected National Laboratory to certify 

17 that each activity carried out under a project for which 

18 an agreement is entered into under this section— 

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

20 sector; and 

21 (2) does not present, or minimizes, any appar22 ent conflict of interest, and avoids or neutralizes any 

23 actual conflict of interest, as a result of the agree24 ment under this section. 


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

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

3 (g) REPORTS.— 

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

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

6 Secretary, in coordination with directors of the Na7 tional Laboratories, shall submit to the appropriate 

8 committees of Congress a report that— 

9 (A) assesses the overall effectiveness of the 

10 pilot program referred to in subsection (a); 

11 (B) identifies opportunities to improve the 

12 effectiveness of the pilot program; 

13 (C) assesses the potential for program ac14 tivities to interfere with the responsibilities of 

15 the National Laboratories to the Department; 

16 and 

17 (D) provides a recommendation regarding 

18 the future of the pilot program. 

19 (2) TRANSPARENCY.—The Secretary, in coordi20 nation with directors of the National Laboratories, 

21 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con22 gress an annual report that accounts for all 

23 incidences of, and provides a justification for, non24 Federal entities using funds derived from a Federal 


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1 contract or award to carry out agreements pursuant 

2 to this section. 

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

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 988(b) of the Energy Pol5 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352(b)) is amended— 

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

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

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

9 (4)’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘(4) EXEMPTION FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGH12 ER EDUCATION AND OTHER NONPROFIT INSTITU13 TIONS.— 

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

15 not apply to a research or development activity 

16 performed by an institution of higher education 

17 or nonprofit institution (as defined in section 4 

18 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation 

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

20 ‘‘(B) TERMINATION DATE.—The exemp21 tion under subparagraph (A) shall apply during 

22 the 2-year period beginning on the date of en23 actment of this paragraph.’’. 

24 (b) REPORTS.— 


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

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec3 retary shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

4 Congress a report that describes the use of cost5 sharing waivers by the Department under section 

6 988(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

7 16352(b)) during the 2-year period ending on the 

8 date of enactment of this Act. 

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

10 year period beginning on the date of enactment of 

11 this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appro12 priate committees of Congress a report that de13 scribes the use of cost-sharing waivers by the De14 partment under section 988(b) of the Energy Policy 

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

16 covered by the report. 

17 TITLE II—DEPARTMENT OF EN18 ERGY RESEARCH COORDINA19 TION 

20 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

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

22 Research Coordination Act’’. 

23 SEC. 202. PROTECTION OF INFORMATION. 

24 Section 5012 of the America Competes Act (42 

25 U.S.C. 16538) is amended— 


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

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

3 (2) by redesignating subsection (n) as sub4 section (o); and 

5 (3) by inserting after subsection (m) the fol6 lowing: 

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

8 types of information collected by ARPA–E from recipients 

9 of financial assistance awards shall be considered commer10 cial and financial information obtained from a person and 

11 privileged or confidential and not subject to disclosure 

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

13 ‘‘(1) Plans for commercialization of technologies 

14 developed under the award, including business plans, 

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

16 and performance models. 

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

18 third parties (such as venture capital firms, hedge 

19 funds, and private equity firms), including amounts 

20 and the percentage of ownership of the awardee pro21 vided in return for the investments. 

22 ‘‘(3) Additional financial support that the 

23 awardee— 

24 ‘‘(A) plans to or has invested into the tech25 nology developed under the award; or 


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

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

3 products or services resulting from research con4 ducted under the award.’’. 

5 SEC. 203. CROSSCUTTING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use the capa7 bilities of the Department to identify strategic opportuni8 ties for collaborative research, development, demonstra9 tion, and commercial application of innovative science and 

10 technologies. 

11 (b) EXISTING PROGRAMS; COORDINATION OF ACTIVI12 TIES.—To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary 

13 shall seek— 

14 (1) to leverage existing programs of the Depart15 ment; and 

16 (2) to consolidate and coordinate activities 

17 throughout the Department to promote collaboration 

18 and crosscutting approaches within programs of the 

19 Department. 

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

21 (1) prioritize activities that use all affordable 

22 domestic resources; 

23 (2) develop a planning, evaluation, and tech24 nical assessment framework for setting objective 


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1 long-term strategic goals and evaluating progress 

2 that— 

3 (A) ensures integrity and independence; 

4 and 

5 (B) provides the flexibility to adapt to 

6 market dynamics; 

7 (3) ensure that activities shall be undertaken in 

8 a manner that does not duplicate other activities 

9 within the Department or other Federal Government 

10 activities; and 

11 (4) identify programs that may be more effec12 tively left to the States, industry, nongovernmental 

13 organizations, institutions of higher education, or 

14 other stakeholders. 

15 SEC. 204. STRATEGIC RESEARCH PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS 

16 AND COORDINATION PLAN. 

17 The Energy Policy Act of 2005 is amended by strik18 ing section 994 (42 U.S.C. 16358) and inserting the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 994. STRATEGIC RESEARCH PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS 

21 AND COORDINATION PLAN. 

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

23 review all of the science and technology activities of the 

24 Department in a strategic framework that takes into ac25 count— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the frontiers of science to which the De2 partment can contribute; 

3 ‘‘(2) the national needs relevant to the statu4 tory missions of the Department; and 

5 ‘‘(3) global energy dynamics. 

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

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

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

9 improve coordination and collaboration in research, 

10 development, demonstration, and commercial appli11 cation activities across organizational boundaries of 

12 the Department. 

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

14 under paragraph (1) shall describe— 

15 ‘‘(A) crosscutting scientific and technical 

16 issues and research questions that span more 

17 than one program or major office of the De18 partment; 

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

20 programs of the Department are coordinating 

21 activities and addressing the questions referred 

22 to in subparagraph (A); 

23 ‘‘(C) ways in which the technical inter24 change within the Department, particularly be25 tween the Office of Science and the applied 


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1 technology programs, could be enhanced, in2 cluding ways in which the research agendas of 

3 the Office of Science and the applied programs 

4 could better interact and assist each other; 

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

6 ensure that the overall research agenda of the 

7 Department includes, in addition to funda8 mental, curiosity-driven research, fundamental 

9 research related to topics of concern to the ap10 plied programs, and applications in Depart11 mental technology programs of research results 

12 generated by fundamental, curiosity-driven re13 search; 

14 ‘‘(E) critical assessments of any ongoing 

15 programs that have experienced subpar per16 formance or cost overruns of 10 percent or 

17 more over one or more years; 

18 ‘‘(F) any activities that may be more effec19 tively left to the States, industry, nongovern20 mental organizations, institutions of higher edu21 cation, or other stakeholders; and 

22 ‘‘(G) detailed evaluations and proposals for 

23 innovation hubs, institutes, and research cen24 ters of the Department, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) an affirmation that the hubs, in2 stitutes, and research centers will— 

3 ‘‘(I) advance the mission of the 

4 Department; and 

5 ‘‘(II) prioritize research, develop6 ment, and demonstration; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) an affirmation that any hubs, in8 stitutes, or research centers that are estab9 lished or renewed within the Office of 

10 Science are consistent with the mission of 

11 the Office of Science described in sub12 section (c) of section 209 of the Depart13 ment of Energy Organization Act (42 

14 U.S.C. 7139). 

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

16 Secretary shall submit to Congress— 

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

18 (a); and 

19 ‘‘(2) the coordination plan under subsection 

20 (b).’’. 

21 SEC. 205. STRATEGY FOR FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUC22 TURE. 

23 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 993 of the Energy Pol24 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16357) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking the section heading and insert2 ing the following: ‘‘STRATEGY FOR FACILITIES

3 AND INFRASTRUCTURE’’; and 

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

5 and inserting ‘‘2018’’. 

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

7 in section 1(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is amend8 ed by striking the item relating to section 993 and insert9 ing the following: 

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

10 SEC. 206. ENERGY INNOVATION HUBS. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) ADVANCED ENERGY TECHNOLOGY.—The 

13 term ‘‘advanced energy technology’’ means— 

14 (A) an innovative technology— 

15 (i) that produces energy from solar, 

16 wind, geothermal, biomass, tidal, wave, 

17 ocean, or other renewable energy resources; 

18 (ii) that produces nuclear energy; 

19 (iii) for carbon capture and sequestra20 tion; 

21 (iv) that enables advanced vehicles, 

22 vehicle components, and related tech23 nologies that result in significant energy 

24 savings; 


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1 (v) that generates, transmits, distrib2 utes, uses, or stores energy more efficiently 

3 than conventional technologies, including 

4 through Smart Grid technologies; or 

5 (vi) that enhances the energy inde6 pendence and security of the United States 

7 by enabling improved or expanded supply 

8 and production of domestic energy re9 sources, including coal, oil, and natural 

10 gas; 

11 (B) a research, development, demonstra12 tion, or commercial application activity nec13 essary to ensure the long-term, secure, and sus14 tainable supply of an energy-critical element; or 

15 (C) any other innovative energy technology 

16 area identified by the Secretary. 

17 (2) HUB.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Hub’’ 

19 means an Energy Innovation Hub established 

20 under this section. 

21 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘Hub’’ in22 cludes any Energy Innovation Hub in existence 

23 on the date of enactment of this Act. 

24 (3) QUALIFYING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘quali25 fying entity’’ means— 


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1 (A) an institution of higher education; 

2 (B) an appropriate State or Federal entity, 

3 including a federally funded research and devel4 opment center of the Department; 

5 (C) a nongovernmental organization with 

6 expertise in advanced energy technology re7 search, development, demonstration, or com8 mercial application; or 

9 (D) any other relevant entity the Secretary 

10 determines appropriate. 

11 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAM.— 

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

13 out a program to enhance the economic, environ14 mental, and energy security of the United States by 

15 making awards to consortia for establishing and op16 erating hubs, to be known as ‘‘Energy Innovation 

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

18 one centralized location, multidisciplinary, collabo19 rative research, development, demonstration, and 

20 commercial application of advanced energy tech21 nologies. 

22 (2) TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOCUS.—The 

23 Secretary shall designate for each Hub a unique ad24 vanced energy technology or basic research focus. 


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1 (3) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall en2 sure the coordination of, and avoid unnecessary du3 plication of, the activities of each Hub with the ac4 tivities of— 

5 (A) other research entities of the Depart6 ment, including the National Laboratories, the 

7 Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy, 

8 and Energy Frontier Research Centers; and 

9 (B) industry. 

10 (c) APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

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

12 award for the establishment and operation of a Hub 

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

14 (A) be composed of not fewer than two 

15 qualifying entities; 

16 (B) operate subject to a binding agree17 ment, entered into by each member of the con18 sortium, that documents— 

19 (i) the proposed partnership agree20 ment, including the governance and man21 agement structure of the Hub; 

22 (ii) measures the consortium will un23 dertake to enable cost-effective implemen24 tation of activities under the program de25 scribed in subsection (b)(1); and 


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1 (iii) a proposed budget, including fi2 nancial contributions from non-Federal 

3 sources; and 

4 (C) operate as a nonprofit organization. 

5 (2) APPLICATION.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—A consortium seeking 

7 to establish and operate a Hub under sub8 section (b)(1) shall submit to the Secretary an 

9 application at such time, in such manner, and 

10 containing such information as the Secretary 

11 may require, including a detailed description of 

12 each element of the consortium agreement re13 quired under paragraph (1)(B). 

14 (B) REQUIREMENT.—If the consortium 

15 members will not be located at one centralized 

16 location, the application under subparagraph 

17 (A) shall include a communications plan that 

18 ensures close coordination and integration of 

19 Hub activities. 

20 (3) SELECTION.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall se22 lect consortia for awards for the establishment 

23 and operation of Hubs through a competitive 

24 selection process. 


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1 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting con2 sortia under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

3 shall consider— 

4 (i) the information disclosed by the 

5 consortium under this subsection; and 

6 (ii) any existing facilities a consortium 

7 will provide for Hub activities. 

8 (d) TERM.— 

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

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

11 than 5 years, subject to the availability of appropria12 tions, after which the award may be renewed, sub13 ject to a rigorous merit review. 

14 (2) EXISTING HUBS.—A Hub already in exist15 ence on, or undergoing a renewal process on, the 

16 date of enactment of this Act— 

17 (A) may continue to receive support during 

18 the 5-year period beginning on the date of es19 tablishment of that Hub; and 

20 (B) shall be eligible for renewal of that 

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

22 (e) HUB OPERATIONS.— 

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

24 provide for multidisciplinary, collaborative research, 

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1 cation of advanced energy technologies within the 

2 technology development focus designated under sub3 section (b)(2). 

4 (2) ACTIVITIES.—Each Hub shall— 

5 (A) encourage collaboration and commu6 nication among the member qualifying entities 

7 of the consortium and awardees; 

8 (B) develop and publish proposed plans 

9 and programs on a publicly accessible website; 

10 (C) submit an annual report to the De11 partment summarizing the activities of the 

12 Hub, including— 

13 (i) detailing organizational expendi14 tures; and 

15 (ii) describing each project under16 taken by the Hub; and 

17 (D) monitor project implementation and 

18 coordination. 

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

20 maintain conflict of interest procedures, consistent 

21 with the conflict of interest procedures of the De22 partment. 

23 (4) PROHIBITION ON CONSTRUCTION.— 

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

25 subparagraph (B)— 


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1 (i) no funds provided under this sec2 tion may be used for construction of new 

3 buildings or facilities for Hubs; and 

4 (ii) construction of new buildings or 

5 facilities shall not be considered as part of 

6 the non-Federal share of a Hub cost-shar7 ing agreement. 

8 (B) TEST BED AND RENOVATION EXCEP9 TION.—Nothing in this paragraph prohibits the 

10 use of funds provided under this section or non11 Federal cost share funds for the construction of 

12 a test bed or renovations to existing buildings 

13 or facilities for the purposes of research if the 

14 Secretary determines that the test bed or ren15 ovations are limited to a scope and scale nec16 essary for the research to be conducted. 

17 TITLE III—DEPARTMENT OF EN18 ERGY OFFICE OF SCIENCE 

19 POLICY 

20 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

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

22 Office of Science Policy Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 302. MISSION. 

2 Section 209 of the Department of Energy Organiza3 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 7139) is amended by adding at the 

4 end the following: 

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

6 shall be the delivery of scientific discoveries, capabilities, 

7 and major scientific tools to transform the understanding 

8 of nature and to advance the energy, economic, and na9 tional security of the United States.’’. 

10 SEC. 303. BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES. 

11 (a) ENERGY FRONTIER RESEARCH CENTERS.— 

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

13 a program to provide awards, on a competitive, 

14 merit-reviewed basis, to multi-institutional collabora15 tions or other appropriate entities to conduct funda16 mental and use-inspired energy research to accel17 erate scientific breakthroughs. 

18 (2) COLLABORATIONS.—A collaboration receiv19 ing an award under this subsection may include mul20 tiple types of institutions and private sector entities. 

21 (3) SELECTION AND DURATION.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—A collaboration under 

23 this subsection shall be selected for a period of 

24 4 years. 

25 (B) EXISTING CENTERS.—An Energy 

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1 ported by the Director on the date of enactment 

2 of this Act may continue to receive support for 

3 a period of 4 years beginning on the date of es4 tablishment of that center. 

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

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

7 applicable, a recipient of an award may reapply 

8 for selection on a competitive, merit-reviewed 

9 basis. 

10 (D) TERMINATION.—Consistent with the 

11 existing authorities of the Department, the Di12 rector may terminate an underperforming cen13 ter for cause during the performance period. 

14 (4) NO FUNDING FOR CONSTRUCTION.—No 

15 funding provided pursuant to this subsection may be 

16 used for the construction of new buildings or facili17 ties. 

18 (b) BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES USER FACILITIES.— 

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

20 a program for the development, construction, oper21 ation, and maintenance of national user facilities. 

22 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—To the maximum extent 

23 practicable, the national user facilities developed, 

24 constructed, operated, or maintained under para25 graph (1) shall serve the needs of the Department, 


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1 industry, the academic community, and other rel2 evant entities to create and examine materials and 

3 chemical processes for the purpose of improving the 

4 competitiveness of the United States. 

5 (3) INCLUDED FACILITIES.—The national user 

6 facilities developed, constructed, operated, or main7 tained under paragraph (1) shall include— 

8 (A) x-ray light sources; 

9 (B) neutron sources; 

10 (C) nanoscale science research centers; and 

11 (D) such other facilities as the Director 

12 considers appropriate, consistent with section 

13 209 of the Department of Energy Organization 

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

15 (c) ACCELERATOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOP16 MENT.—The Director shall carry out research and devel17 opment on advanced accelerator and storage ring tech18 nologies relevant to the development of basic energy 

19 sciences user facilities, in consultation with the High En20 ergy Physics and Nuclear Physics programs of the Office 

21 of Science. 

22 (d) SOLAR FUELS RESEARCH INITIATIVE.— 

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

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

25 to read as follows: 


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

2 ‘‘(a) INITIATIVE.— 

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

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

5 Fuels Research Initiative’ (referred to in this section 

6 as the ‘Initiative’) to expand theoretical and funda7 mental knowledge of photochemistry, electro8 chemistry, biochemistry, and materials science useful 

9 for the practical development of experimental sys10 tems to convert solar energy to chemical energy. 

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

12 and activities under the Initiative, the Secretary 

13 shall leverage expertise and resources from— 

14 ‘‘(A) the Basic Energy Sciences Program 

15 and the Biological and Environmental Research 

16 Program of the Office of Science; and 

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

18 Renewable Energy. 

19 ‘‘(3) TEAMS.— 

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

21 Initiative, the Secretary shall organize activities 

22 among multidisciplinary teams to leverage, to 

23 the maximum extent practicable, expertise from 

24 the National Laboratories, institutions of higher 

25 education, and the private sector. 


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

2 described in subparagraph (A) shall pursue ag3 gressive, milestone-driven, basic research goals. 

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

5 provide sufficient resources to the multidisci6 plinary teams described in subparagraph (A) to 

7 achieve the goals described in subparagraph (B) 

8 over a period of time to be determined by the 

9 Secretary. 

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

11 may organize additional activities under this sub12 section through Energy Frontier Research Centers, 

13 Energy Innovation Hubs, or other organizational 

14 structures. 

15 ‘‘(b) ARTIFICIAL PHOTOSYNTHESIS.— 

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

17 out under the Initiative a program to support re18 search needed to bridge scientific barriers to, and 

19 discover knowledge relevant to, artificial photosyn20 thetic systems. 

21 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—As part of the program de22 scribed in paragraph (1)— 

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

24 Energy Sciences shall support basic research to 


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1 pursue distinct lines of scientific inquiry, in2 cluding— 

3 ‘‘(i) photoinduced production of hy4 drogen and oxygen from water; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) the sustainable photoinduced re6 duction of carbon dioxide to fuel products 

7 including hydrocarbons, alcohols, carbon 

8 monoxide, and natural gas; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the Assistant Secretary for Energy 

10 Efficiency and Renewable Energy shall support 

11 translational research, development, and valida12 tion of physical concepts developed under the 

13 program. 

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

15 shall review activities carried out under the program 

16 described in paragraph (1) to determine the achieve17 ment of technical milestones. 

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

19 program described in paragraph (1) may be obli20 gated or expended for commercial application of en21 ergy technology. 

22 ‘‘(c) BIOCHEMISTRY, REPLICATION OF NATURAL

23 PHOTOSYNTHESIS, AND RELATED PROCESSES.— 

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

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1 search needed to replicate natural photosynthetic 

2 processes by use of artificial photosynthetic compo3 nents and materials. 

4 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—As part of the program de5 scribed in paragraph (1)— 

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

7 Energy Sciences shall support basic research to 

8 expand fundamental knowledge to replicate nat9 ural synthesis processes, including— 

10 ‘‘(i) the photoinduced reduction of 

11 dinitrogen to ammonia; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the absorption of carbon dioxide 

13 from ambient air; 

14 ‘‘(iii) molecular-based charge separa15 tion and storage; 

16 ‘‘(iv) photoinitiated electron transfer; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(v) catalysis in biological or bio19 mimetic systems; 

20 ‘‘(B) the Associate Director of Biological 

21 and Environmental Research shall support sys22 tems biology and genomics approaches to un23 derstand genetic and physiological pathways 

24 connected to photosynthetic mechanisms; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the Assistant Secretary for Energy 

2 Efficiency and Renewable Energy shall support 

3 translational research, development, and valida4 tion of physical concepts developed under the 

5 program. 

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

7 shall review activities carried out under the program 

8 described in paragraph (1) to determine the achieve9 ment of technical milestones. 

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

11 program described in paragraph (1) may be obli12 gated or expended for commercial application of en13 ergy technology.’’. 

14 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 

15 contents for the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is 

16 amended by striking the item relating to section 973 

17 and inserting the following: 

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

18 (e) ELECTRICITY STORAGE RESEARCH INITIATIVE.— 

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

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

21 to read as follows: 

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

23 ‘‘(a) INITIATIVE.— 

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

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1 tricity Storage Research Initiative’ (referred to in 

2 this section as the ‘Initiative’)— 

3 ‘‘(A) to expand theoretical and funda4 mental knowledge to control, store, and con5 vert— 

6 ‘‘(i) electrical energy to chemical en7 ergy; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) chemical energy to electrical en9 ergy; and 

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

11 practical understanding of chemical and phys12 ical processes that occur within systems involv13 ing crystalline and amorphous solids, polymers, 

14 and organic and aqueous liquids. 

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

16 and activities under the Initiative, the Secretary 

17 shall leverage expertise and resources from— 

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

19 the Advanced Scientific Computing Research 

20 Program, and the Biological and Environmental 

21 Research Program of the Office of Science; and 

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

23 Renewable Energy. 

24 ‘‘(3) TEAMS.— 


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

2 Initiative, the Secretary shall organize activities 

3 among multidisciplinary teams to leverage, to 

4 the maximum extent practicable, expertise from 

5 the National Laboratories, institutions of higher 

6 education, and the private sector. 

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

8 described in subparagraph (A) shall pursue ag9 gressive, milestone-driven, basic research goals. 

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

11 provide sufficient resources to the multidisci12 plinary teams described in subparagraph (A) to 

13 achieve the goals described in subparagraph (B) 

14 over a period of time to be determined by the 

15 Secretary. 

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

17 may organize additional activities under this sub18 section through Energy Frontier Research Centers, 

19 Energy Innovation Hubs, or other organizational 

20 structures. 

21 ‘‘(b) MULTIVALENT SYSTEMS.— 

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

23 out under the Initiative a program to support re24 search needed to bridge scientific barriers to, and 


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1 discover knowledge relevant to, multivalent ion mate2 rials in electric energy storage systems. 

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 shall investigate electro7 chemical properties and the dynamics of mate8 rials, including charge transfer phenomena and 

9 mass transport in materials; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the Assistant Secretary for Energy 

11 Efficiency and Renewable Energy shall support 

12 translational research, development, and valida13 tion of physical concepts developed under the 

14 program. 

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

16 shall review activities carried out under the program 

17 described in paragraph (1) to determine the achieve18 ment of technical milestones. 

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

20 program described in paragraph (1) may be obli21 gated or expended for commercial application of en22 ergy technology. 

23 ‘‘(c) ELECTROCHEMISTRY MODELING AND SIMULA24 TION.— 


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

2 out under the Initiative a program to support re3 search to model and simulate organic electrolytes, 

4 including the static and dynamic electrochemical be5 havior and phenomena of organic electrolytes at the 

6 molecular and atomic level in monovalent and multi7 valent systems. 

8 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—As part of the program de9 scribed in paragraph (1)— 

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

11 Energy Sciences, in coordination with the Asso12 ciate Director of Advanced Scientific Com13 puting Research, shall support the development 

14 of high performance computational tools 

15 through a joint development process to maxi16 mize the effectiveness of current and projected 

17 high performance computing systems; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the Assistant Secretary for Energy 

19 Efficiency and Renewable Energy shall support 

20 translational research, development, and valida21 tion of physical concepts developed under the 

22 program. 

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

24 shall review activities carried out under the program 


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1 described in paragraph (1) to determine the achieve2 ment of technical milestones. 

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

4 program described in paragraph (1) may be obli5 gated or expended for commercial application of en6 ergy technology. 

7 ‘‘(d) MESOSCALE ELECTROCHEMISTRY.— 

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

9 out under the Initiative a program to support re10 search needed to reveal electrochemistry in confined 

11 mesoscale spaces, including scientific discoveries rel12 evant to— 

13 ‘‘(A) bio-electrochemistry and electro14 chemical energy conversion and storage in con15 fined spaces; and 

16 ‘‘(B) the dynamics of the phenomena de17 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

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 and the Associate Director of 

22 Biological and Environmental Research shall in23 vestigate phenomena of mesoscale electro24 chemical confinement for the purpose of repliVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Mar 14, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2503.IS S2503

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1 cating and controlling new electrochemical be2 havior; 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 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 

17 contents for the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is 

18 amended by striking the item relating to section 975 

19 and inserting the following: 

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

20 SEC. 304. ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING RESEARCH. 

21 (a) AMERICAN SUPER COMPUTING LEADERSHIP.— 

22 (1) RENAMING OF ACT.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 1 of the De24 partment of Energy High-End Computing Revi25 talization Act of 2004 (15 U.S.C. 5501 note; 


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1 Public Law 108–423) is amended by striking 

2 ‘‘Department of Energy High-End Computing 

3 Revitalization Act of 2004’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘American Super Computing Leadership Act of 

5 2017’’. 

6 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

7 976(a)(1) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

8 U.S.C. 16316(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘De9 partment of Energy High-End Computing Revi10 talization Act of 2004’’ and inserting ‘‘Amer11 ican Super Computing Leadership Act of 

12 2017’’. 

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

14 Super Computing Leadership Act of 2017 (15 

15 U.S.C. 5541) is amended— 

16 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

17 through (5) as paragraphs (3) through (6), re18 spectively; 

19 (B) by striking paragraph (1) and insert20 ing the following: 

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

22 means the Department of Energy. 

23 ‘‘(2) EXASCALE COMPUTING.—The term 

24 ‘exascale computing’ means computing through the 

25 use of a computing machine that performs near or 


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

2 and 

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

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

5 through the Director of the Office of Science of 

6 the Department of Energy’’. 

7 (3) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY HIGH-END COM8 PUTING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.— 

9 Section 3 of the American Super Computing Leader10 ship Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 5542) is amended— 

11 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘pro12 gram’’ and inserting ‘‘coordinated program 

13 across the Department’’; 

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

15 which may’’ and all that follows through ‘‘archi16 tectures’’; and 

17 (C) by striking subsection (d) and insert18 ing the following: 

19 ‘‘(d) EXASCALE COMPUTING PROGRAM.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall con21 duct a research program (referred to in this sub22 section as the ‘Program’) for exascale computing, in23 cluding the development of two or more exascale 

24 computing machine architectures, to promote the 

25 missions of the Department. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EXECUTION.— 

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

3 Program, the Secretary shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) establish two or more National 

5 Laboratory partnerships with industry 

6 partners and institutions of higher edu7 cation for the research and development of 

8 two or more exascale computing architec9 tures across all applicable organizations of 

10 the Department; 

11 ‘‘(ii) conduct mission-related codesign 

12 activities in developing the exascale com13 puting architectures under clause (i); 

14 ‘‘(iii) develop such advancements in 

15 hardware and software technology as are 

16 required to fully realize the potential of an 

17 exascale production system in addressing 

18 Department target applications and solving 

19 scientific problems involving predictive 

20 modeling and simulation and large scale 

21 data analytics and management; 

22 ‘‘(iv) explore the use of exascale com23 puting technologies to advance a broad 

24 range of science and engineering; and 


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

2 competitive, merit-reviewed basis, access 

3 for researchers in industries in the United 

4 States, institutions of higher education, 

5 National Laboratories, and other Federal 

6 agencies to the exascale computing systems 

7 developed pursuant to clause (i). 

8 ‘‘(B) SELECTION OF PARTNERS.—The Sec9 retary shall select the partnerships with the 

10 computing facilities of the Department under 

11 subparagraph (A) through a competitive, peer12 review process. 

13 ‘‘(3) CODESIGN AND APPLICATION DEVELOP14 MENT.— 

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

16 ‘‘(i) carry out the Program through 

17 an integration of applications, computer 

18 science, applied mathematics, and com19 puter hardware architecture using the 

20 partnerships established pursuant to para21 graph (2) to ensure that, to the maximum 

22 extent practicable, two or more exascale 

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1 cluding predictive modeling and simulation 

2 and large scale data analytics and manage3 ment; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) conduct outreach programs to in5 crease the readiness for the use of such 

6 platforms by domestic industries, including 

7 manufacturers. 

8 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—The Secretary shall sub9 mit to Congress a report describing— 

10 ‘‘(i) how the integration under sub11 paragraph (A) is furthering application 

12 science data and computational workloads 

13 across application interests, including na14 tional security, material science, physical 

15 science, cybersecurity, biological science, 

16 the Materials Genome and BRAIN Initia17 tives of the President, advanced manufac18 turing, and the national electric grid; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) the roles and responsibilities of 

20 National Laboratories and industry, in21 cluding the definition of the roles and re22 sponsibilities within the Department to en23 sure an integrated program across the De24 partment. 

25 ‘‘(4) PROJECT REVIEW.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The exascale architec2 tures developed pursuant to partnerships estab3 lished pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be re4 viewed through a project review process. 

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

6 after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

7 the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 

8 on— 

9 ‘‘(i) the results of the review con10 ducted under subparagraph (A); and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the coordination and manage12 ment of the Program to ensure an inte13 grated research program across the De14 partment. 

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

16 budget submission of the Department for each fiscal 

17 year, the Secretary, in consultation with the mem18 bers of the partnerships established pursuant to 

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

20 that describes funding for the Program as a whole 

21 by functional element of the Department and critical 

22 milestones.’’. 

23 (b) HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING AND NET24 WORKING RESEARCH.—The Director shall support re25 search in high-performance computing and networking relVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Mar 14, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2503.IS S2503

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1 evant to energy applications, including modeling, simula2 tion, and advanced data analytics for basic and applied 

3 energy research programs carried out by the Secretary. 

4 (c) APPLIED MATHEMATICS AND SOFTWARE DEVEL5 OPMENT FOR HIGH-END COMPUTING SYSTEMS.—The Di6 rector shall carry out activities to develop, test, and sup7 port— 

8 (1) mathematics, models, and algorithms for 

9 complex systems and programming environments; 

10 and 

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

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

13 of the American Super Computing Leadership Act of 

14 2017 (15 U.S.C. 5541)). 

15 SEC. 305. HIGH-ENERGY PHYSICS. 

16 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con17 gress that— 

18 (1) the Director should incorporate the findings 

19 and recommendations of the report of the Particle 

20 Physics Project Prioritization Panel entitled ‘‘Build21 ing for Discovery: Strategic Plan for U.S. Particle 

22 Physics in the Global Context’’ into the planning 

23 process of the Department; and 

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

25 hosting international teams dedicated to a common 


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1 scientific goal attract the world’s best talent and in2 spire future generations of physicists and tech3 nologists. 

4 (b) INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION.—The Direc5 tor, as practicable and in coordination with other appro6 priate Federal agencies as necessary, shall ensure the ac7 cess of United States researchers to the most advanced 

8 accelerator facilities and research capabilities in the world, 

9 including the Large Hadron Collider. 

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

11 out research activities on rare decay processes and the na12 ture of the neutrino, which may include collaborations 

13 with the National Science Foundation or international col14 laborations. 

15 (d) DARK ENERGY AND DARK MATTER RE16 SEARCH.—The Director shall carry out research activities 

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

18 include collaborations with the National Aeronautics and 

19 Space Administration or the National Science Foundation; 

20 or international collaborations. 

21 SEC. 306. BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH. 

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

23 out research and development activities in fundamental, 

24 structural, computational, and systems biology to increase 


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1 systems-level understanding of the complex biological sys2 tems, which may include activities— 

3 (1) to accelerate breakthroughs and new knowl4 edge that would enable the cost-effective, sustainable 

5 production of— 

6 (A) biomass-based liquid transportation 

7 fuels; 

8 (B) bioenergy; and 

9 (C) biobased materials; 

10 (2) to improve understanding of the global car11 bon cycle, including processes for removing carbon 

12 dioxide from the atmosphere, through photosynthesis 

13 and other biological processes, for sequestration and 

14 storage; and 

15 (3) to understand the biological mechanisms 

16 used to transform, immobilize, or remove contami17 nants from subsurface environments. 

18 (b) LIMITATION FOR RESEARCH FUNDS.—The Di19 rector shall not approve new climate science-related initia20 tives without making a determination that such work is 

21 well-coordinated with any relevant work carried out by 

22 other Federal agencies. 

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

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

25 a research program on low-dose radiation. 


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

2 to enhance the scientific understanding of, and re3 duce uncertainties associated with, the effects of ex4 posure to low-dose radiation to inform improved 

5 risk-management methods. 

6 SEC. 307. FUSION ENERGY. 

7 (a) FUSION MATERIALS RESEARCH AND DEVELOP8 MENT.—As part of the activities authorized in section 978 

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

10 (1) the Director, in coordination with the As11 sistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy of the Depart12 ment, shall carry out research and development ac13 tivities to identify, characterize, and demonstrate 

14 materials that can endure the neutron, plasma, and 

15 heat fluxes expected in a fusion power system; and 

16 (2) the Director shall provide an assessment 

17 of— 

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

19 can examine and test potential fusion and next 

20 generation fission materials and other enabling 

21 technologies relevant to the development of fu22 sion power; and 

23 (B) whether a single new facility that sub24 stantially addresses magnetic fusion and next 

25 generation fission materials research needs is 


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1 feasible, in conjunction with the expected capa2 bilities of facilities operational as of the date of 

3 enactment of this Act. 

4 (b) TOKAMAK RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—The 

5 Director shall support research and development activities 

6 and facility operations to optimize the tokamak approach 

7 to fusion energy. 

8 (c) INERTIAL FUSION ENERGY RESEARCH AND DE9 VELOPMENT.—The Director shall support research and 

10 development activities for inertial fusion for energy appli11 cations. 

12 (d) ALTERNATIVE AND ENABLING CONCEPTS.—The 

13 Director shall support research and development activities 

14 and facility operations at institutions of higher education, 

15 National Laboratories, and private facilities in the United 

16 States for a portfolio of alternative and enabling fusion 

17 energy concepts that may provide solutions to significant 

18 challenges to the establishment of a commercial magnetic 

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

20 United States to play a leadership role in the international 

21 fusion research community. 

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

23 shall coordinate with the Director of the Advanced Re24 search Projects Agency–Energy (referred to in this sub25 section as ‘‘ARPA–E’’) to— 


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1 (1) assess the potential for any fusion energy 

2 project supported by ARPA–E to represent a prom3 ising approach to a commercially viable fusion power 

4 plant; 

5 (2) determine whether the results of any fusion 

6 energy project supported by ARPA–E merit the sup7 port of follow-on research activities carried out by 

8 the Office of Science; and 

9 (3) avoid the unintentional duplication of activi10 ties. 

11 (f) FAIRNESS IN COMPETITION FOR SOLICITATIONS

12 FOR INTERNATIONAL PROJECT ACTIVITIES.—Section 33 

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

14 amended by inserting before the first sentence the fol15 lowing: ‘‘In this section, with respect to international re16 search projects, the term ‘private facilities or laboratories’ 

17 means facilities or laboratories located in the United 

18 States.’’. 

19 (g) IDENTIFICATION OF PRIORITIES.— 

20 (1) REPORT.— 

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

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec23 retary shall submit to Congress a report on the 

24 fusion energy research and development activi25 ties that the Department proposes to carry out 


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1 over the 10-year period following the date of 

2 the report under not fewer than 3 realistic 

3 budget scenarios, including a scenario based on 

4 3-percent annual growth in the non-ITER por5 tion of the budget for fusion energy research 

6 and development activities. 

7 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The report required 

8 under subparagraph (A) shall— 

9 (i) identify specific areas of fusion en10 ergy research and enabling technology de11 velopment in which the United States can 

12 and should establish or solidify a lead in 

13 the global fusion energy development ef14 fort; 

15 (ii) identify priorities for initiation of 

16 facility construction and facility decommis17 sioning under each of the three budget sce18 narios described in subparagraph (A); and 

19 (iii) assess the ability of the fusion 

20 workforce of the United States to carry out 

21 the activities identified under clauses (i) 

22 and (ii), including the adequacy of pro23 grams at institutions of higher education 

24 in the United States to train the leaders 


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1 and workers of the next generation of fu2 sion energy researchers. 

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

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

5 leverage best practices and lessons learned from the 

6 process used to develop the most recent report of the 

7 Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel of the 

8 High Energy Physics Advisory Panel. 

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

10 Energy Sciences Advisory Committee shall be ex11 cluded from participating in developing or voting on 

12 final approval of the report required under para13 graph (1)(A). 

14 SEC. 308. NUCLEAR PHYSICS. 

15 (a) ISOTOPE DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION FOR

16 RESEARCH APPLICATIONS.—The Director— 

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

18 of isotopes, including the development of techniques 

19 to produce isotopes, that the Secretary determines 

20 are needed for research, medical, industrial, or re21 lated purposes; and 

22 (2) shall ensure that isotope production activi23 ties carried out under the program under this para24 graph do not compete with private industry unless 

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1 ests require the involvement of the Federal Govern2 ment. 

3 (b) RENAMING OF THE RARE ISOTOPE ACCEL4 ERATOR.—Section 981 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

5 (42 U.S.C. 16321) is amended— 

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

7 ISOTOPE ACCELERATOR’’ and inserting ‘‘FACIL8 ITY FOR RARE ISOTOPE BEAMS’’; and 

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

10 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Facility for Rare Iso11 tope Beams’’. 

12 SEC. 309. SCIENCE LABORATORIES INFRASTRUCTURE PRO13 GRAM. 

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

15 program to improve the safety, efficiency, and mission 

16 readiness of infrastructure at laboratories of the Office of 

17 Science. 

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

19 shall include projects— 

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

21 meet research needs; 

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

23 effective to renovate or operate; 

24 (3) to modernize utility systems to prevent fail25 ures and ensure efficiency; 


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

2 efficient operations; and 

3 (5) to construct modern facilities to conduct ad4 vanced research in controlled environmental condi5 tions. 

6 TITLE IV—NUCLEAR ENERGY 

7 INNOVATION CAPABILITIES 

8 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

9 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Nuclear Energy Inno10 vation Capabilities Act’’. 

11 SEC. 402. NUCLEAR ENERGY INNOVATION CAPABILITIES. 

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

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

14 as follows: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 951. NUCLEAR ENERGY. 

16 ‘‘(a) MISSION.— 

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

18 out programs of civilian nuclear research, develop19 ment, demonstration, and commercial application, 

20 including activities under this subtitle. 

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

22 out under paragraph (1) shall take into consider23 ation the following objectives: 

24 ‘‘(A) Providing research infrastructure to 

25 promote scientific progress and enable users 


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1 from academia, the National Laboratories, and 

2 the private sector to make scientific discoveries 

3 relevant for nuclear, chemical, and materials 

4 science engineering. 

5 ‘‘(B) Maintaining nuclear energy research 

6 and development programs at the National 

7 Laboratories and institutions of higher edu8 cation, including infrastructure at the National 

9 Laboratories and institutions of higher edu10 cation. 

11 ‘‘(C) Providing the technical means to re12 duce the likelihood of nuclear proliferation. 

13 ‘‘(D) Increasing confidence margins for 

14 public safety of nuclear energy systems. 

15 ‘‘(E) Reducing the environmental impact 

16 of activities relating to nuclear energy. 

17 ‘‘(F) Supporting technology transfer from 

18 the National Laboratories to the private sector. 

19 ‘‘(G) Enabling the private sector to part20 ner with the National Laboratories to dem21 onstrate novel reactor concepts for the purpose 

22 of resolving technical uncertainty associated 

23 with the objectives described in subparagraphs 

24 (A) through (F). 

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


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

2 term ‘advanced nuclear reactor’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) a nuclear fission reactor with signifi4 cant improvements over the most recent genera5 tion of nuclear fission reactors, which may in6 clude— 

7 ‘‘(i) inherent safety features; 

8 ‘‘(ii) lower waste yields; 

9 ‘‘(iii) greater fuel utilization; 

10 ‘‘(iv) superior reliability; 

11 ‘‘(v) resistance to proliferation; 

12 ‘‘(vi) increased thermal efficiency; and 

13 ‘‘(vii) the ability to integrate into elec14 tric and nonelectric applications; or 

15 ‘‘(B) a nuclear fusion reactor. 

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

17 means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

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

19 means a neutron with kinetic energy above 100 

20 kiloelectron volts. 

21 ‘‘(4) NATIONAL LABORATORY.— 

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

23 subparagraph (B), the term ‘National Labora24 tory’ has the meaning given the term in section 

25 2. 


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

2 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the 

3 Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the 

4 Sandia National Laboratories, the term ‘Na5 tional Laboratory’ means only the civilian ac6 tivities of the laboratory. 

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

8 means the intensity of neutron radiation measured 

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

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

11 source’ means a research machine that provides neu12 tron irradiation services for— 

13 ‘‘(A) research on materials sciences and 

14 nuclear physics; and 

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

16 fuels, and other related components for reactor 

17 systems.’’. 

18 (b) NUCLEAR ENERGY RESEARCH PROGRAMS.— 

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

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

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

22 (B) by redesignating subsections (d) and 

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

24 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

25 641(b)(1) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 


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

2 942(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 952(c)’’. 

3 (c) ADVANCED FUEL CYCLE INITIATIVE.—Section 

4 953(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

5 16273(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘, acting through the 

6 Director of the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and 

7 Technology,’’. 

8 (d) UNIVERSITY NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ENGINEER9 ING SUPPORT.—Section 954(d)(4) of the Energy Policy 

10 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16274(d)(4)) is amended by strik11 ing ‘‘as part of a taking into consideration effort that em12 phasizes’’ and inserting ‘‘that emphasize’’. 

13 (e) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CIVILIAN NUCLEAR

14 INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITIES.—Section 955 of the 

15 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16275) is amend16 ed— 

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

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

19 ‘‘(c) VERSATILE NEUTRON SOURCE.— 

20 ‘‘(1) MISSION NEED.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than De22 cember 31, 2017, the Secretary shall determine 

23 the mission need for a versatile reactor-based 

24 fast neutron source, which shall operate as a 

25 national user facility. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATIONS REQUIRED.—In car2 rying out subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 

3 consult with the private sector, institutions of 

4 higher education, the National Laboratories, 

5 and relevant Federal agencies to ensure that 

6 the user facility described in subparagraph (A) 

7 will meet the research needs of the largest prac8 ticable majority of prospective users. 

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

10 after determining the mission need under paragraph 

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

12 committees of Congress a detailed plan for the es13 tablishment of the user facility. 

14 ‘‘(3) FACILITY REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

16 ensure that the user facility will provide, at a 

17 minimum, the following capabilities: 

18 ‘‘(i) Fast neutron spectrum irradia19 tion capability. 

20 ‘‘(ii) Capacity for upgrades to accom21 modate new or expanded research needs. 

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

23 the plan submitted under paragraph (2), the 

24 Secretary shall consider the following: 


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1 ‘‘(i) Capabilities that support experi2 mental high-temperature testing. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Providing a source of fast neu4 trons at a neutron flux, higher than that 

5 at which current research facilities operate, 

6 sufficient to enable research for an optimal 

7 base of prospective users. 

8 ‘‘(iii) Maximizing irradiation flexibility 

9 and irradiation volume to accommodate as 

10 many concurrent users as possible. 

11 ‘‘(iv) Capabilities for irradiation with 

12 neutrons of a lower energy spectrum. 

13 ‘‘(v) Multiple loops for fuels and ma14 terials testing in different coolants. 

15 ‘‘(vi) Additional pre-irradiation and 

16 post-irradiation examination capabilities. 

17 ‘‘(vii) Lifetime operating costs and 

18 lifecycle costs. 

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

20 Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 

21 complete construction of, and approve the start of 

22 operations for, the user facility by not later than De23 cember 31, 2025. 

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

25 in the annual budget request of the Department an 


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1 explanation for any delay in the progress of the De2 partment in completing the user facility by the dead3 line described in paragraph (4). 

4 ‘‘(6) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall le5 verage the best practices for management, construc6 tion, and operation of national user facilities from 

7 the Office of Science.’’. 

8 (f) SECURITY OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES.—Section 

9 956 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16276) 

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

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

12 (g) HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTATION AND SUP13 PORTIVE RESEARCH.—Section 957 of the Energy Policy 

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

15 follows: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 957. HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTATION AND SUP17 PORTIVE RESEARCH. 

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

19 shall carry out a program to enhance the capabilities of 

20 the United States to develop new reactor technologies 

21 through high-performance computation modeling and sim22 ulation techniques. 

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

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

25 relevant Federal agencies as described by the National 


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1 Strategic Computing Initiative established by Executive 

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

3 while taking into account the following objectives: 

4 ‘‘(1) Using expertise from the private sector, in5 stitutions of higher education, and the National 

6 Laboratories to develop computational software and 

7 capabilities that prospective users may access to ac8 celerate research and development of advanced nu9 clear reactor systems and reactor systems for space 

10 exploration. 

11 ‘‘(2) Developing computational tools to simulate 

12 and predict nuclear phenomena that may be vali13 dated through physical experimentation. 

14 ‘‘(3) Increasing the utility of the research infra15 structure of the Department by coordinating with 

16 the Advanced Scientific Computing Research pro17 gram within the Office of Science. 

18 ‘‘(4) Leveraging experience from the Energy In19 novation Hub for Modeling and Simulation. 

20 ‘‘(5) Ensuring that new experimental and com21 putational tools are accessible to relevant research 

22 communities, including private sector entities en23 gaged in nuclear energy technology development. 

24 ‘‘(c) SUPPORTIVE RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.—The Sec25 retary shall consider support for additional research activiVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Mar 14, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00064 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2503.IS S2503

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1 ties to maximize the utility of the research facilities of the 

2 Department, including physical processes— 

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

4 behavior of fuel forms; and 

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

6 (h) ENABLING NUCLEAR ENERGY INNOVATION.— 

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

8 (42 U.S.C. 16271 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following: 

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

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

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized a pro13 gram to enable the testing and demonstration of re14 actor concepts to be proposed and funded by the pri15 vate sector. 

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

17 shall prevent a private sector entity that has re18 ceived Federal grants from participating in this pro19 gram. 

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

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

22 the technical expertise of relevant Federal agencies and 

23 the National Laboratories in order to minimize the time 

24 required to enable construction and operation of privately 


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1 funded experimental reactors at National Laboratories or 

2 other Department-owned sites. 

3 ‘‘(c) OBJECTIVES.—The reactors described in sub4 section (b) shall operate to meet the following objectives: 

5 ‘‘(1) Enabling physical validation of advanced 

6 nuclear reactor concepts. 

7 ‘‘(2) Resolving technical uncertainty and in8 creasing practical knowledge relevant to safety, resil9 ience, security, and functionality of advanced nuclear 

10 reactor concepts. 

11 ‘‘(3) General research and development to im12 prove nascent technologies. 

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

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

15 enter into a memorandum of understanding with the 

16 Chairman of the Commission in order to share technical 

17 expertise and knowledge through— 

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

19 advanced nuclear reactor concepts to be proposed 

20 and funded by the private sector; 

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

22 data and knowledge relevant to nuclear science and 

23 engineering between Federal agencies and the pri24 vate sector; 


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1 ‘‘(3) developing and testing electric and non2 electric integration and energy conversion systems 

3 relevant to advanced nuclear reactors; 

4 ‘‘(4) leveraging expertise from the Commission 

5 with respect to safety analysis; and 

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

7 to actively observe and learn about technologies de8 veloped under the program. 

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

10 Commission and the Secretary shall enter into a memo11 randum of understanding regarding the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) Ensuring that— 

13 ‘‘(A) the Department has sufficient tech14 nical expertise to support the timely research, 

15 development, demonstration, and commercial 

16 application by the civilian nuclear industry of 

17 safe and innovative advanced nuclear reactor 

18 technology; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the Commission has sufficient tech20 nical expertise to support the evaluation of ap21 plications for licenses, permits, and design cer22 tifications and other requests for regulatory ap23 proval for advanced nuclear reactors. 

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

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1 vanced nuclear reactors based on mathematical mod2 els of the physical behavior of advanced nuclear re3 actors. 

4 ‘‘(3) Ensuring that— 

5 ‘‘(A) the Department maintains and devel6 ops the facilities necessary to enable the timely 

7 research, development, demonstration, and com8 mercial application by the civilian nuclear in9 dustry of safe and innovative reactor tech10 nology; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the Commission has access to the fa12 cilities described in subparagraph (A), as need13 ed. 

14 ‘‘(f) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

16 after the date of enactment of the Nuclear Energy 

17 Innovation Capabilities Act of 2017, the Secretary, 

18 in consultation with the National Laboratories, rel19 evant Federal agencies, and other stakeholders, shall 

20 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 

21 report assessing the capabilities of the Department 

22 to authorize, host, and oversee privately funded ex23 perimental advanced nuclear reactors as described in 

24 subsection (b). 


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

2 paragraph (1) shall address— 

3 ‘‘(A) the safety review and oversight capa4 bilities of the Department, including options to 

5 leverage expertise from the Commission and the 

6 National Laboratories; 

7 ‘‘(B) options to regulate privately proposed 

8 and funded experimental reactors hosted by the 

9 Department; 

10 ‘‘(C) potential sites capable of hosting pri11 vately funded experimental advanced nuclear re12 actors; 

13 ‘‘(D) the efficacy of the available contrac14 tual mechanisms of the Department to partner 

15 with the private sector and Federal agencies, 

16 including cooperative research and development 

17 agreements, strategic partnership projects, and 

18 agreements for commercializing technology; 

19 ‘‘(E) the liability of the Federal Govern20 ment with respect to the disposal of low-level 

21 radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel, or high22 level radioactive waste (as those terms are de23 fined in section 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy 

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


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1 ‘‘(F) the impact on the aggregate inven2 tory in the United States of low-level radio3 active waste, spent nuclear fuel, or high-level 

4 radioactive waste (as those terms are defined in 

5 section 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 

6 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101)); 

7 ‘‘(G) potential cost structures relating to 

8 physical security, decommissioning, liability, 

9 and other long-term project costs; and 

10 ‘‘(H) other challenges or considerations 

11 identified by the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(3) UPDATES.—Once every 2 years, the Sec13 retary shall update relevant provisions of the report 

14 submitted under paragraph (1) and submit to the 

15 appropriate committees of Congress the update. 

16 ‘‘(g) SAVINGS CLAUSES.— 

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

18 this section authorizes the Secretary or any person 

19 to construct or operate a nuclear reactor for the pur20 pose of demonstrating the suitability for commercial 

21 application of the nuclear reactor unless licensed by 

22 the Commission in accordance with section 202 of 

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

24 5842). 


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

2 carried out under this section that involves the risk 

3 of public liability shall be subject to the financial 

4 protection or indemnification requirements of section 

5 170 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 

6 2210) (commonly known as the ‘Price-Anderson 

7 Act’).’’. 

8 (i) BUDGET PLAN.—Subtitle E of title IX of the En9 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16271 et seq.) (as 

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

11 end the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 959. BUDGET PLAN. 

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

14 date of enactment of the Nuclear Energy Innovation Ca15 pabilities Act of 2017, the Secretary shall submit to the 

16 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen17 ate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

18 of the House of Representatives 2 alternative 10-year 

19 budget plans for civilian nuclear energy research and de20 velopment by the Secretary, as described in subsections 

21 (b) through (d). 

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

23 budget plans submitted under subsection (a) shall assume 

24 constant annual funding for 10 years at the appropriated 


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1 level for the civilian nuclear energy research and develop2 ment of the Department for fiscal year 2016. 

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

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

5 unconstrained budget. 

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

7 submitted under subsection (a) shall include— 

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

9 and activities of the Department to best support the 

10 development of advanced nuclear reactor tech11 nologies; 

12 ‘‘(2) realistic budget requirements for the De13 partment to implement sections 955(c), 957, and 

14 958; and 

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

16 continuing or terminating existing civilian nuclear 

17 energy research and development programs.’’. 

18 (j) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The table of con19 tents for the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is amended by 

20 striking the item relating to section 957 and inserting the 

21 following: 

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

‘‘958. Enabling nuclear energy innovation. 

‘‘959. Budget plan.’’. 

Æ 


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