II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3111 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a grant program to support 

hydrogen-fueled equipment at ports and to conduct a study with the 

Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Homeland Security 

on the feasibility and safety of using hydrogen-derived fuels, including 

ammonia, as a shipping fuel. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 28, 2021 

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

LUJA ́N) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a grant 

program to support hydrogen-fueled equipment at ports 

and to conduct a study with the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Homeland Security on the 

feasibility and safety of using hydrogen-derived fuels, 

including ammonia, as a shipping fuel. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hydrogen for Ports 

5 Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MARITIME MODERNIZATION GRANT PROGRAM. 

2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

3 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti4 ty’’ means an entity described in subsection (d). 

5 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

6 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

7 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

8 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

9 (3) LOW-INCOME OR DISADVANTAGED COMMU10 NITY.—The term ‘‘low-income or disadvantaged 

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

12 town, a county, and any reasonably isolated and di13 visible segment of a larger municipality) with an an14 nual median household income that is less than 100 

15 percent of the statewide annual median household 

16 income for the State in which the community is lo17 cated, according to the most recent decennial census. 

18 (4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

19 the program established under subsection (b). 

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

21 the Secretary of Energy. 

22 (b) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish 

24 a program under which the Secretary shall provide grants, 

25 on a competitive basis, to eligible entities for— 


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1 (1) the purchase, installation, construction, fa2 cilitation, maintenance, or operation of, as appro3 priate— 

4 (A) hydrogen- or ammonia-fueled cargo5 handling equipment, including, at a minimum, 

6 equipment used for drayage applications; 

7 (B) hydrogen fuel cell or ammonia-fueled 

8 trucks for use at ports; 

9 (C) hydrogen fuel cell or ammonia-fueled 

10 ferries, tugboats, dredging vessels, container 

11 ships, bulk carriers, fuel tankers, and other ma12 rine vessels; 

13 (D) hydrogen fuel cell-based shore power 

14 for ships while docked at the port; 

15 (E) hydrogen fuel cell or ammonia onsite 

16 power plants; and 

17 (F) port infrastructure for hydrogen or 

18 ammonia import, export, storage, and fueling; 

19 and 

20 (2) the training of ship crew and shore per21 sonnel to handle hydrogen or ammonia. 

22 (c) GOALS.—The goals of the program shall be— 

23 (1) to demonstrate fuel cell, hydrogen, or am24 monia technologies in maritime and associated logis25 tics applications; 


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1 (2) to assist in the development and validation 

2 of technical targets for hydrogen, ammonia, and fuel 

3 cell systems for maritime and associated logistics ap4 plications; 

5 (3) to benchmark the conditions required for 

6 broad commercialization of hydrogen, ammonia, and 

7 fuel cell technologies in maritime and associated lo8 gistics applications; 

9 (4) to assess the operational and technical con10 siderations for installing, constructing, and using 

11 hydrogen- or ammonia-fueled equipment and sup12 porting infrastructure at ports; and 

13 (5) to reduce emissions and improve air quality 

14 in areas in and around ports. 

15 (d) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—An entity eligible to receive 

17 a grant under the program is— 

18 (A) a State; 

19 (B) a political subdivision of a State; 

20 (C) a local government; 

21 (D) a public agency or publicly chartered 

22 authority established by 1 or more States; 

23 (E) a special purpose district with a trans24 portation function; 


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1 (F) an Indian Tribe or a consortium of In2 dian Tribes; 

3 (G) a multistate or multijurisdictional 

4 group of entities described in any of subpara5 graphs (A) through (F); or 

6 (H) subject to paragraph (2), a private en7 tity or group of private entities, including the 

8 owners or operators of 1 or more facilities at a 

9 port. 

10 (2) JOINT ELIGIBILITY WITH PRIVATE ENTI11 TIES.—A private entity or group of private entities 

12 is eligible for a grant under the program if— 

13 (A) the private entity or group of private 

14 entities partners with an entity described in any 

15 of subparagraphs (A) through (G) of paragraph 

16 (1) for purposes of applying for, and carrying 

17 out activities under, the grant; and 

18 (B) the entity described in the applicable 

19 subparagraph of that paragraph is the lead en20 tity with respect to the application and those 

21 activities. 

22 (e) APPLICATIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring a 

24 grant under the program shall submit to the Sec25 retary an application at such time, in such manner, 


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1 and containing such information as the Secretary 

2 may require. 

3 (2) REQUIREMENT.—The application of an eli4 gible entity described in subparagraph (H) of sub5 section (d)(1) shall be submitted jointly with an en6 tity described in subparagraphs (A) through (G) of 

7 that subsection. 

8 (f) CONSIDERATIONS.—In providing grants under the 

9 program, the Secretary, to the maximum extent prac10 ticable, shall— 

11 (1) select projects that will generate the great12 est benefit to low-income or disadvantaged commu13 nities; and 

14 (2) select projects that will— 

15 (A) maximize the creation or retention of 

16 jobs in the United States; and 

17 (B) provide the highest job quality. 

18 (g) PRIORITY.—In selecting eligible entities to receive 

19 a grant under the program, the Secretary shall give pri20 ority to projects that will provide greater net impact in 

21 avoiding or reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. 

22 (h) LEAK DETECTION.—Each eligible entity that re23 ceives a grant under the program shall conduct— 


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1 (1) a hydrogen leakage monitoring, reporting, 

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

3 and 

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

5 known as ‘‘LDAR’’) program. 

6 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

7 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

8 out this section $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

9 through 2026. 

10 SEC. 3. STUDY. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy, in con12 sultation with the Secretary of Transportation and the 

13 Secretary of Homeland Security, shall conduct, and sub14 mit to Congress a report describing the results of, a 

15 study— 

16 (1) to fully address the challenges to ensure the 

17 safe use and handling of hydrogen, ammonia, and 

18 other hydrogen-based fuels on vessels and in ports; 

19 (2) to identify, compare, and evaluate the feasi20 bility of, the safety, environmental, and health im21 pacts of, and best practices with respect to, the use 

22 of hydrogen-derived fuels, including ammonia, as a 

23 shipping fuel; 

24 (3) to identify and evaluate considerations for 

25 hydrogen and ammonia storage, including— 


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1 (A) at ports; 

2 (B) on board vessels; and 

3 (C) for subsea hydrogen storage; and 

4 (4) to assess the cost and value of a hydrogen 

5 or ammonia strategic reserve, either as a new facility 

6 or as a modification to the Strategic Petroleum Re7 serve established under part B of title I of the En8 ergy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6231 

9 et seq.). 

10 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out subsection (a), 

11 the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Transportation, 

12 and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall— 

13 (1) take into account lessons learned from dem14 onstration projects in other industries, including— 

15 (A) projects carried out in the United 

16 States; 

17 (B) projects carried out in other countries; 

18 and 

19 (C) projects relating to the automotive in20 dustry, buses, petroleum refining, chemical pro21 duction, fertilizer production, and stationary 

22 power; and 


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1 (2) evaluate the applicability of the lessons de2 scribed in paragraph (1) to the use of hydrogen in 

3 maritime and associated logistics applications. 

Æ 


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