I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3440 

To direct the Department of Energy to support fusion energy innovation, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 4, 2015 

Mr. GRAYSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

A BILL 

To direct the Department of Energy to support fusion energy 

innovation, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fusion Innovation Act 

5 of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FUSION INNOVATION INITIATIVE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office 

9 of Science of the Department of Energy shall establish a 

10 Fusion Innovation Initiative. Under the Initiative, the Dimstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

2 

•HR 3440 IH

1 rector shall issue a competitive, merit-reviewed funding 

2 opportunity announcement to solicit proposals for engi3 neering designs for innovative fusion energy systems, in4 cluding upgrades to existing facilities, which have the po5 tential to demonstrate net energy production not later 

6 than 7 years after the start of construction. 

7 (b) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—In order to be 

8 eligible to receive an award under this section, an appli9 cant shall submit an application to the Director that in10 cludes— 

11 (1) a detailed cost estimate and schedule for 

12 construction of the design, including a summary of 

13 any design modifications that would accelerate the 

14 achievement of net energy production; and 

15 (2) an assessment of the scalability of the de16 sign. 

17 (c) AWARD AND DESIGN SUBMISSION.— 

18 (1) AWARD.—The Director shall review each 

19 application submitted under subsection (b) and shall 

20 provide awards to applicants with design concepts 

21 that the Director considers to have potential based 

22 on the criteria described in subsection (a). 

23 (2) DESIGN SUBMISSION.—As a condition of re24 ceiving such award, the Director shall require any 

25 such applicant to submit the design upon which the 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

3 

•HR 3440 IH

1 application is based to the Director not later than 

2 18 months after receipt of the award. 

3 (d) ASSESSMENT.—The Director shall carry out an 

4 assessment of each design submitted under subsection 

5 (c)(2) to determine which designs, if any, merit support 

6 from the Department due to their potential to dem7 onstrate net energy production not later than 7 years after 

8 the start of construction, and shall— 

9 (1) submit the assessment to Congress not later 

10 than 30 months after the date of enactment of this 

11 Act; and 

12 (2) assign top priority to, and provide expedited 

13 financial support (to the extent provided in advance 

14 in appropriations Acts) for, relevant construction ac15 tivities for any design that the Director determines 

16 merits such support, based on the project manage17 ment practices of the Office of Science. 

18 SEC. 3. RESOURCE AND INFORMATION SHARING. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—To the extent practicable, the Sec20 retary of Energy shall establish open, transparent proc21 esses to share unclassified resources and information that 

22 will accelerate the advancement of fusion energy tech23 nologies among researchers from the National Labora24 tories, institutions of higher education, and the private 

25 sector. Such resources and information shall include— 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

4 

•HR 3440 IH

1 (1) advanced computing platforms and simula2 tion codes; 

3 (2) diagnostic equipment information; and 

4 (3) pulsed power system information. 

5 (b) COMPUTING.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

7 processes to make unclassified, proprietary simula8 tion codes relevant to the development of a fusion 

9 energy system, that are controlled by a National 

10 Laboratory, available to researchers from other Na11 tional Laboratories, institutions of higher education, 

12 and the private sector. 

13 (2) SHARED PLATFORMS.—The Secretary shall 

14 support shared platforms for the codevelopment of 

15 simulation codes for fusion energy systems among 

16 researchers from the National Laboratories, institu17 tions of higher education, and the private sector. 

18 (c) PERSONNEL EXCHANGES.—The Secretary shall 

19 establish a process for fusion researchers from the Na20 tional Laboratories to serve limited-term residencies at 

21 private sector companies working to advance fusion tech22 nologies. Such residencies shall be entirely supported by 

23 the host companies. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

5 

•HR 3440 IH

1 SEC. 4. FUSION DEMONSTRATION SITES. 

2 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 

3 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

4 Energy, in consultation with the National Laboratories, 

5 relevant Federal agencies, and stakeholders, shall transmit 

6 to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 

7 the House of Representatives and the Committee on En8 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report assess9 ing the Department of Energy’s capabilities to authorize, 

10 host, and oversee privately funded fusion prototypes with 

11 up to 20 megawatts thermal output and related dem12 onstration facilities at sites owned by the Department. 

13 (b) REPORT ELEMENTS.—The report described in 

14 subsection (a) shall address the following: 

15 (1) The Department’s safety review and over16 sight capabilities. 

17 (2) Potential sites capable of hosting research, 

18 development, and demonstration of prototype reac19 tors and related facilities, for the purpose of reduc20 ing technical risk. 

21 (3) The Department’s and the National Lab22 oratories’ existing physical and technical capabilities 

23 relevant to research, development, and oversight. 

24 (4) The efficacy of the Department’s available 

25 contractual mechanisms, including cooperative re26 search and development agreements, work-for-others 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

6 

•HR 3440 IH

1 agreements, and agreements for commercializing 

2 technology. 

3 (5) Potential cost structures related to physical 

4 security, decommissioning, liability, and other long5 term project costs. 

6 (6) Other challenges or considerations identified 

7 by the Secretary, including issues related to poten8 tial cases of demonstration reactors with up to 2 

9 gigawatts of thermal output. 

10 SEC. 5. NATIONAL LABORATORIES. 

11 In this Act, the term ‘‘National Laboratories’’ has the 

12 meaning given the term in section 2 of the Energy Policy 

13 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801). 

Æ 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS