II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1408 

To provide for a program of research, development, demonstration, and 

commercial application in vehicle technologies at the Department of Energy. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 20, 2015 

Mr. PETERS (for himself, Mr. ALEXANDER, and Ms. STABENOW) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for a program of research, development, demonstration, and commercial application in vehicle technologies at the Department of Energy. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Vehicle Innovation Act of 2015’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Objectives. 

Sec. 4. Definitions. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1408 IS

Sec. 5. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE I—VEHICLE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 

Sec. 101. Program. 

Sec. 102. Sensing and communications technologies. 

Sec. 103. Manufacturing. 

Sec. 104. User testing facilities. 

Sec. 105. Reporting. 

TITLE II—MEDIUM- AND HEAVY-DUTY COMMERCIAL AND 

TRANSIT VEHICLES 

Sec. 201. Program. 

Sec. 202. Class 8 truck and trailer systems demonstration. 

Sec. 203. Technology testing and metrics. 

Sec. 204. Nonroad systems pilot program. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) According to the Energy Information Ad4 ministration, the transportation sector accounts for 

5 approximately 28 percent of the United States pri6 mary energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions, 

7 and 21 percent of global oil demand. 

8 (2) The United States transportation sector is 

9 over 90-percent dependent on petroleum. 

10 (3) United States heavy truck fuel consumption 

11 will increase 27 percent by 2030. 

12 (4) The domestic automotive and commercial 

13 vehicle manufacturing sectors have increasingly lim14 ited resources for research, development, and engi15 neering of advanced technologies. 

16 (5) Vehicle, engine, and component manufactur17 ers are playing a more important role in vehicle 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1408 IS

1 technology development, and should be better inte2 grated into Federal research efforts. 

3 (6) Priorities for the vehicle technologies re4 search of the Department of Energy have shifted 

5 drastically in recent years among diesel hybrids, hy6 drogen fuel cell vehicles, and plug-in electric hybrids, 

7 with little continuity among them. 

8 (7) The integration of vehicle, communication, 

9 and infrastructure technologies has great potential 

10 for efficiency gains through better management of 

11 the total transportation system. 

12 (8) The Federal Government should balance its 

13 role in researching longer-term exploratory concepts 

14 and developing nearer-term transformational tech15 nologies for vehicles. 

16 SEC. 3. OBJECTIVES. 

17 The objectives of this Act are— 

18 (1) to develop United States technologies and 

19 practices that— 

20 (A) improve the fuel efficiency and emis21 sions of all vehicles produced in the United 

22 States; and 

23 (B) reduce vehicle reliance on petroleum24 based fuels; 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1408 IS

1 (2) to support domestic research, development, 

2 engineering, demonstration, and commercial applica3 tion and manufacturing of advanced vehicles, en4 gines, and components; 

5 (3) to enable vehicles to move larger volumes of 

6 goods and more passengers with less energy and 

7 emissions; 

8 (4) to develop cost-effective advanced tech9 nologies for wide-scale utilization throughout the 

10 passenger, commercial, government, and transit ve11 hicle sectors; 

12 (5) to allow for greater consumer choice of vehi13 cle technologies and fuels; 

14 (6) shorten technology development and inte15 gration cycles in the vehicle industry; 

16 (7) to ensure a proper balance and diversity of 

17 Federal investment in vehicle technologies; and 

18 (8) to strengthen partnerships between Federal 

19 and State governmental agencies and the private 

20 and academic sectors. 

21 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

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

24 means the Department of Energy. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1408 IS

1 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Energy. 

3 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec5 retary for research, development, engineering, demonstra6 tion, and commercial application of vehicles and related 

7 technologies in the United States, including activities au8 thorized under this Act— 

9 (1) for fiscal year 2015, $301,506,000; 

10 (2) for fiscal year 2016, $313,567,000; 

11 (3) for fiscal year 2017, $326,109,000; 

12 (4) for fiscal year 2018, $339,154,000; 

13 (5) for fiscal year 2019, $352,720,000; and 

14 (6) for fiscal year 2020, $366,829,000. 

15 TITLE I—VEHICLE RESEARCH 

16 AND DEVELOPMENT 

17 SEC. 101. PROGRAM. 

18 (a) ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary shall conduct a pro19 gram of basic and applied research, development, engi20 neering, demonstration, and commercial application activi21 ties on materials, technologies, and processes with the po22 tential to substantially reduce or eliminate petroleum use 

23 and the emissions of the Nation’s passenger and commer24 cial vehicles, including activities in the areas of— 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1408 IS

1 (1) hybridization or full electrification of vehicle 

2 systems; 

3 (2) batteries and other energy storage devices; 

4 (3) power electronics; 

5 (4) vehicle, component, and subsystem manu6 facturing technologies and processes; 

7 (5) engine efficiency and combustion optimiza8 tion; 

9 (6) waste heat recovery; 

10 (7) transmission and drivetrains; 

11 (8) hydrogen vehicle technologies, including fuel 

12 cells and internal combustion engines, and hydrogen 

13 infrastructure, including hydrogen energy storage to 

14 enable renewables and provide hydrogen for fuel and 

15 power; 

16 (9) natural gas vehicle technologies; 

17 (10) aerodynamics, rolling resistance (including 

18 tires and wheel assemblies), and accessory power 

19 loads of vehicles and associated equipment; 

20 (11) vehicle weight reduction, including 

21 lightweighting materials and the development of 

22 manufacturing processes to fabricate, assemble, and 

23 use dissimilar materials; 

24 (12) friction and wear reduction; 

25 (13) engine and component durability; 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 1408 IS

1 (14) innovative propulsion systems; 

2 (15) advanced boosting systems; 

3 (16) hydraulic hybrid technologies; 

4 (17) engine compatibility with and optimization 

5 for a variety of transportation fuels including nat6 ural gas and other liquid and gaseous fuels; 

7 (18) predictive engineering, modeling, and sim8 ulation of vehicle and transportation systems; 

9 (19) refueling and charging infrastructure for 

10 alternative fueled and electric or plug-in electric hy11 brid vehicles, including the unique challenges facing 

12 rural areas; 

13 (20) gaseous fuels storage systems and system 

14 integration and optimization; 

15 (21) sensing, communications, and actuation 

16 technologies for vehicle, electrical grid, and infra17 structure; 

18 (22) efficient use, substitution, and recycling of 

19 potentially critical materials in vehicles, including 

20 rare earth elements and precious metals, at risk of 

21 supply disruption; 

22 (23) aftertreatment technologies; 

23 (24) thermal management of battery systems; 

24 (25) retrofitting advanced vehicle technologies 

25 to existing vehicles; 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 1408 IS

1 (26) development of common standards, speci2 fications, and architectures for both transportation 

3 and stationary battery applications; 

4 (27) advanced internal combustion engines; 

5 (28) mild hybrid; 

6 (29) engine down speeding; and 

7 (30) other research areas as determined by the 

8 Secretary. 

9 (b) TRANSFORMATIONAL TECHNOLOGY.—The Sec10 retary shall ensure that the Department continues to sup11 port research, development, engineering, demonstration, 

12 and commercial application activities and maintains com13 petency in mid- to long-term transformational vehicle tech14 nologies with potential to achieve deep reductions in petro15 leum use and emissions, including activities in the areas 

16 of— 

17 (1) hydrogen vehicle technologies, including fuel 

18 cells, hydrogen storage, infrastructure, and activities 

19 in hydrogen technology validation and safety codes 

20 and standards; 

21 (2) multiple battery chemistries and novel en22 ergy storage devices, including nonchemical batteries 

23 and electromechanical storage technologies such as 

24 hydraulics, flywheels, and compressed air storage; 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 1408 IS

1 (3) communication and connectivity among ve2 hicles, infrastructure, and the electrical grid; and 

3 (4) other innovative technologies research and 

4 development, as determined by the Secretary. 

5 (c) INDUSTRY PARTICIPATION.—To the maximum 

6 extent practicable, activities under this Act shall be carried 

7 out in partnership or collaboration with automotive manu8 facturers, heavy commercial, vocational, and transit vehi9 cle manufacturers, qualified plug-in electric vehicle manu10 facturers, compressed natural gas vehicle manufacturers, 

11 vehicle and engine equipment and component manufactur12 ers, manufacturing equipment manufacturers, advanced 

13 vehicle service providers, fuel producers and energy sup14 pliers, electric utilities, universities, national laboratories, 

15 and independent research laboratories. In carrying out 

16 this Act the Secretary shall— 

17 (1) determine whether a wide range of compa18 nies that manufacture or assemble vehicles or com19 ponents in the United States are represented in on20 going public private partnership activities, including 

21 firms that have not traditionally participated in fed22 erally sponsored research and development activities, 

23 and where possible, partner with such firms that 

24 conduct significant and relevant research and devel25 opment activities in the United States; 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 1408 IS

1 (2) leverage the capabilities and resources of, 

2 and formalize partnerships with, industry-led stake3 holder organizations, nonprofit organizations, indus4 try consortia, and trade associations with expertise 

5 in the research and development of, and education 

6 and outreach activities in, advanced automotive and 

7 commercial vehicle technologies; 

8 (3) develop more effective processes for trans9 ferring research findings and technologies to indus10 try; 

11 (4) give consideration to conversion of existing 

12 or former vehicle technology development or manu13 facturing facilities for the purposes of this Act; 

14 (5) support public-private partnerships, dedi15 cated to overcoming barriers in commercial applica16 tion of transformational vehicle technologies, that 

17 utilize such industry-led technology development fa18 cilities of entities with demonstrated expertise in 

19 successfully designing and engineering pre-commer20 cial generations of such transformational technology; 

21 and 

22 (6) promote efforts to ensure that technology 

23 research, development, engineering, and commercial 

24 application activities funded under this Act are car25 ried out in the United States. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 1408 IS

1 (d) INTERAGENCY AND INTRAAGENCY COORDINA2 TION.—To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary 

3 shall coordinate research, development, demonstration, 

4 and commercial application activities among— 

5 (1) relevant programs within the Department, 

6 including— 

7 (A) the Office of Energy Efficiency and 

8 Renewable Energy; 

9 (B) the Office of Science; 

10 (C) the Office of Electricity Delivery and 

11 Energy Reliability; 

12 (D) the Office of Fossil Energy; 

13 (E) the Advanced Research Projects Agen14 cy—Energy; and 

15 (F) other offices as determined by the Sec16 retary; and 

17 (2) relevant technology research and develop18 ment programs within other Federal agencies, as de19 termined by the Secretary. 

20 (e) COORDINATION AND NONDUPLICATION.—In co21 ordinating activities the Secretary shall ensure, to the 

22 maximum extent practicable, that activities do not dupli23 cate those of other programs within the Department or 

24 other relevant research agencies. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 1408 IS

1 (f) FEDERAL DEMONSTRATION OF TECH2 NOLOGIES.—The Secretary shall make information avail3 able to procurement programs of Federal agencies regard4 ing the potential to demonstrate technologies resulting 

5 from activities funded through programs under this Act. 

6 (g) INTERGOVERNMENTAL COORDINATION.—The 

7 Secretary shall seek opportunities to leverage resources 

8 and support initiatives of State and local governments in 

9 developing and promoting advanced vehicle technologies, 

10 manufacturing, and infrastructure. 

11 (h) CRITERIA.—When awarding grants under this 

12 program, the Secretary shall give priority to those tech13 nologies (either individually or as part of a system) that— 

14 (1) provide the greatest aggregate fuel savings 

15 based on the reasonable projected sales volumes of 

16 the technology; and 

17 (2) provide the greatest increase in United 

18 States employment. 

19 SEC. 102. SENSING AND COMMUNICATIONS TECH20 NOLOGIES. 

21 The Secretary, in coordination with the relevant re22 search programs of other Federal agencies, shall conduct 

23 research, development, engineering, demonstration, and 

24 deployment activities on connectivity of vehicle roadway, 

25 vulnerable road users, traffic control systems, and transVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 May 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1408.IS S1408

smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 1408 IS

1 portation data systems, including on sensing, data, com2 putation, communication, cybersecurity, and actuation 

3 technologies that allow for improved safety, reduced en4 ergy and fuel use, optimized traffic flow, and vehicle elec5 trification, including technologies for— 

6 (1) onboard vehicle, engine, transmission and 

7 component sensing, actuation, and calibration; 

8 (2) vehicle-to-vehicle sensing and communica9 tion; 

10 (3) vehicle-to-infrastructure sensing and com11 munication; 

12 (4) vehicle-to-pedestrian and vehicle-to-bicyclist 

13 sensing and communication; and 

14 (5) vehicle integration with the electrical grid. 

15 SEC. 103. MANUFACTURING. 

16 The Secretary shall carry out a research, develop17 ment, engineering, demonstration, and commercial appli18 cation program of advanced vehicle manufacturing tech19 nologies and practices, including innovative processes— 

20 (1) to increase the production rate and decrease 

21 the cost of advanced battery and fuel cell manufac22 turing; 

23 (2) to vary the capability of individual manufac24 turing facilities to accommodate different battery 

25 chemistries and configurations; 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 1408 IS

1 (3) to reduce waste streams, emissions, and en2 ergy intensity of vehicle, engine, advanced battery 

3 and component manufacturing processes; 

4 (4) to recycle and remanufacture used batteries 

5 and other vehicle components for reuse in vehicles or 

6 stationary applications; 

7 (5) to develop manufacturing processes to effec8 tively fabricate, assemble, and produce cost-effective 

9 lightweight materials such as advanced aluminum 

10 and other metal alloys, polymeric composites, and 

11 carbon fiber for use in vehicles; 

12 (6) to produce lightweight high pressure storage 

13 systems for gaseous fuels; 

14 (7) to design and manufacture purpose-built hy15 drogen fuel cell vehicles and components; 

16 (8) to improve the calendar life and cycle life of 

17 advanced batteries; and 

18 (9) to produce permanent magnets for advanced 

19 vehicles. 

20 SEC. 104. USER TESTING FACILITIES. 

21 Activities under this Act may include construction, 

22 expansion, or modification of new and existing vehicle, en23 gine, and component research and testing facilities for— 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 1408 IS

1 (1) testing or simulating interoperability of a 

2 variety of vehicle components and systems, including 

3 the technologies described in section 102; 

4 (2) subjecting whole or partial vehicle platforms 

5 to fully representative duty cycles and operating con6 ditions; 

7 (3) developing and demonstrating a range of 

8 chemistries and configurations for advanced vehicle 

9 battery manufacturing; 

10 (4) developing and demonstrating test cycles for 

11 new and alternative fuels, and other advanced vehi12 cle technologies; 

13 (5) developing and demonstrating methods to 

14 charge electric vehicles and connect them to the elec15 tric grid; and 

16 (6) developing, testing, and demonstrating hy17 drogen and natural gas refueling station tech18 nologies. 

19 SEC. 105. REPORTING. 

20 (a) TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPED.—Not later than 18 

21 months after the date of enactment of this Act and annu22 ally thereafter through 2020, the Secretary shall submit 

23 to Congress a report regarding the technologies developed 

24 as a result of the activities authorized by this title, with 

25 a particular emphasis on whether the technologies were 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 1408 IS

1 successfully adopted for commercial applications, and if 

2 so, whether products relying on those technologies are 

3 manufactured in the United States. 

4 (b) ADDITIONAL MATTERS.—At the end of each fis5 cal year through 2020 the Secretary shall submit to the 

6 relevant Congressional committees of jurisdiction an an7 nual report describing activities undertaken in the pre8 vious year under this title, active industry participants, ef9 forts to recruit new participants committed to design, en10 gineering, and manufacturing of advanced vehicle tech11 nologies in the United States, progress of the program in 

12 meeting goals and timelines, and a strategic plan for fund13 ing of activities across agencies. 

14 TITLE II—MEDIUM- AND HEAVY15 DUTY COMMERCIAL AND 

16 TRANSIT VEHICLES 

17 SEC. 201. PROGRAM. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in partnership 

19 with relevant research and development programs in other 

20 Federal agencies, and a range of appropriate industry 

21 stakeholders, shall carry out a program of cooperative re22 search, development, demonstration, and commercial ap23 plication activities on advanced technologies for medium24 to heavy-duty commercial, vocational, recreational, and 

25 transit vehicles, including activities in the areas of— 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 1408 IS

1 (1) engine efficiency and combustion research; 

2 (2) onboard storage technologies for compressed 

3 and liquefied natural gas; 

4 (3) development and integration of engine tech5 nologies designed for natural gas operation of a vari6 ety of vehicle platforms; 

7 (4) waste heat recovery and conversion; 

8 (5) improved aerodynamics and tire rolling re9 sistance; 

10 (6) energy and space-efficient emissions control 

11 systems; 

12 (7) mild hybrid, heavy hybrid, hybrid hydraulic, 

13 plug-in hybrid, and electric platforms, and energy 

14 storage technologies; 

15 (8) drivetrain optimization; 

16 (9) friction and wear reduction; 

17 (10) engine idle and parasitic energy loss reduc18 tion; 

19 (11) electrification of accessory loads; 

20 (12) onboard sensing and communications tech21 nologies; 

22 (13) advanced lightweighting materials and ve23 hicle designs; 

24 (14) increasing load capacity per vehicle; 

25 (15) thermal management of battery systems; 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 1408 IS

1 (16) recharging infrastructure; 

2 (17) compressed natural gas infrastructure; 

3 (18) advanced internal combustion engines; 

4 (19) complete vehicle and power pack modeling, 

5 simulation, and testing; 

6 (20) hydrogen vehicle technologies, including 

7 fuel cells and internal combustion engines, and hy8 drogen infrastructure, including hydrogen energy 

9 storage to enable renewables and provide hydrogen 

10 for fuel and power; 

11 (21) retrofitting advanced technologies onto ex12 isting truck fleets; 

13 (22) advanced boosting systems; 

14 (23) engine down speeding; and 

15 (24) integration of these and other advanced 

16 systems onto a single truck and trailer platform. 

17 (b) REPORTING.—At the end of each fiscal year 

18 through fiscal year 2020, the Secretary shall submit to 

19 Congress an annual report describing activities under20 taken in the previous year, active industry participants, 

21 efforts to recruit new participants, progress of the pro22 gram in meeting goals and timelines, and a strategic plan 

23 for funding of activities across agencies. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 1408 IS

1 SEC. 202. CLASS 8 TRUCK AND TRAILER SYSTEMS DEM2 ONSTRATION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

4 competitive grant program to demonstrate the integration 

5 of multiple advanced technologies on Class 8 truck and 

6 trailer platforms, including a combination of technologies 

7 listed in section 201(a). 

8 (b) APPLICANT TEAMS.—Applicant teams may be 

9 comprised of truck and trailer manufacturers, engine and 

10 component manufacturers, fleet customers, university re11 searchers, and other applicants as appropriate for the de12 velopment and demonstration of integrated Class 8 truck 

13 and trailer systems. 

14 SEC. 203. TECHNOLOGY TESTING AND METRICS. 

15 The Secretary, in coordination with the partners of 

16 the interagency research program described in section 

17 201(a)— 

18 (1) shall develop standard testing procedures 

19 and technologies for evaluating the performance of 

20 advanced heavy vehicle technologies under a range of 

21 representative duty cycles and operating conditions, 

22 including for heavy hybrid propulsion systems; 

23 (2) shall evaluate heavy vehicle performance 

24 using work performance-based metrics other than 

25 those based on miles per gallon, including those 

26 based on units of volume and weight transported for 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
20 

•S 1408 IS

1 freight applications, and appropriate metrics based 

2 on the work performed by nonroad systems; and 

3 (3) may construct heavy duty truck and bus 

4 testing facilities. 

5 SEC. 204. NONROAD SYSTEMS PILOT PROGRAM. 

6 The Secretary shall undertake a pilot program of re7 search, development, demonstration, and commercial ap8 plications of technologies to improve total machine or sys9 tem efficiency for nonroad mobile equipment including ag10 ricultural, construction, air, and sea port equipment, and 

11 shall seek opportunities to transfer relevant research find12 ings and technologies between the nonroad and on-high13 way equipment and vehicle sectors. 

Æ 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS