IIB 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7073 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

AN ACT 

To improve public-private partnerships and increase Federal 

research, development, and demonstration related to the 

evolution of next generation pipeline systems, and for 

other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Next Generation Pipe3 lines Research and Development Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

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

7 means the Department of Energy. 

8 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti9 ty’’ means— 

10 (A) an institution of higher education (as 

11 such term is defined in section 101(a) of the 

12 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

13 1001(a))), including historically Black colleges 

14 and universities (within the meaning of the 

15 term ‘‘part B institution’’ in section 322 of the 

16 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

17 1061)), Tribal colleges and universities (as such 

18 term is defined in section 316 of the Higher 

19 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c)), and 

20 minority serving institutions (including the enti21 ties described in any of paragraphs (1) through 

22 (7) of section 371(a) of the Higher Education 

23 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a))); 

24 (B) a nonprofit research organization; 


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1 (C) a National Laboratory (as such term is 

2 defined in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 

3 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801)); 

4 (D) a private commercial entity; 

5 (E) a partnership or consortium of two or 

6 more entities described in subparagraphs (A) 

7 through (D) that leverages existing Department 

8 efforts; or 

9 (F) any other entity the Secretary deter10 mines appropriate. 

11 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of Energy. 

13 (4) TECHNICAL STANDARDS.—The term ‘‘tech14 nical standard’’ has the meaning given such term in 

15 section 12(d)(5) of the National Technology Trans16 fer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 

17 note). 

18 SEC. 3. COORDINATION. 

19 In carrying out this Act— 

20 (1) the Secretary shall avoid unnecessary dupli21 cation and achieve shared mission goals by coordi22 nating with the Administrator of the Pipeline and 

23 Hazardous Materials Safety Administration of the 

24 Department of Transportation and across all relVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:31 Sep 26, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7073.RFS H7073

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1 evant program offices at the Department of Energy, 

2 including— 

3 (A) the Office of Science; 

4 (B) the Office of Fossil Energy and Car5 bon Management; 

6 (C) the Office of Energy Efficiency and 

7 Renewable Energy; 

8 (D) the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy 

9 Security, and Emergency Response; 

10 (E) the Advanced Research Projects Agen11 cy–Energy; 

12 (F) the Office of Clean Energy Dem13 onstrations; and 

14 (G) any other cross-cutting program office 

15 determined appropriate; 

16 (2) the Secretary of Transportation shall ensure 

17 participation of and coordination with the Secretary 

18 of Energy of— 

19 (A) the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

20 Safety Administration of the Department of 

21 Transportation; and 

22 (B) any other program office of the De23 partment of Transportation determined appro24 priate; and 


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1 (3) the Secretary shall coordinate with the Di2 rector of the National Institute of Standards and 

3 Technology, the Secretary of the Interior, and the 

4 heads of other relevant Federal agencies, as appro5 priate. 

6 SEC. 4. ADVANCED PIPELINE MATERIALS AND TECH7 NOLOGIES DEMONSTRATION INITIATIVE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E of title III of division 

9 D of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public 

10 Law 117–58) is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing new section: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 40344. ADVANCED PIPELINE MATERIALS AND TECH13 NOLOGIES DEMONSTRATION INITIATIVE. 

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF INITIATIVE.—The Sec15 retary shall establish a demonstration initiative (in this 

16 section referred to as the ‘Initiative’) under which the Sec17 retary, through a competitive merit review process, shall 

18 award financial assistance to eligible entities to carry out 

19 demonstration projects on low- to mid-technology readi20 ness level subjects to achieve deployment of technologies 

21 that— 

22 ‘‘(1) are applicable to pipelines and associated 

23 infrastructure, including liquefied natural gas facili24 ties and underground and above ground gas and liq25 uid fuel storage facilities; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) involve the development of next generation 

2 pipeline systems, components, and related tech3 nologies. 

4 ‘‘(b) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT FOCUS AREAS.—In 

5 carrying out the Initiative, the Secretary shall select dem6 onstration projects that best advance research undertaken 

7 by the Department and the Department of Transportation 

8 and incorporate a range of technology focus areas, which 

9 may include the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) Advanced leak detection and mitigation 

11 tools and technologies. 

12 ‘‘(2) Novel materials, including alloy and non13 metallic materials, to improve integrity for new and 

14 existing pipelines, such as pipeline coatings, sleeves, 

15 and liners, and corrosion resistant materials, includ16 ing maximum and minimum flow rates and immu17 nity to electrical discharge processes. 

18 ‘‘(3) Technologies and methods for retrofitting 

19 existing pipelines, resolving material compatibility 

20 issues, and minimizing leakage, such as field protec21 tive coatings and material treatment. 

22 ‘‘(4) Advanced manufacturing approaches for 

23 producing, fitting, and coupling pipelines, including 

24 the fabrication of higher performance pipeline mate25 rials and new extrusion technologies or methods to 


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1 join ultra-high strength and corrosion resistant ma2 terials at a scale for distribution. 

3 ‘‘(5) Advanced sensor technologies and proc4 esses that enable real-time or in situ monitoring of 

5 pipeline assets to assess and mitigate leaks, both in6 ternal and external to the pipeline, which may in7 clude the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) Wireless sensors, such as surface 

9 acoustic wave sensors. 

10 ‘‘(B) Advanced and cost-effective electro11 chemical sensors. 

12 ‘‘(C) Distributed fiber optic sensors. 

13 ‘‘(D) Autonomous sensor systems, includ14 ing uncrewed aircraft. 

15 ‘‘(E) Optical methods. 

16 ‘‘(F) Multi-use platforms for diverse 

17 sources. 

18 ‘‘(G) Hybrid data-analysis platforms. 

19 ‘‘(6) Advanced computational, data analytics, 

20 and machine learning models to achieve the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(A) Multiscale modeling, characterization, 

23 and optimization of transmission and distribu24 tion systems and components to aid in planning 

25 for optimized and resilient infrastructure. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Correlation between sensor and emis2 sions data at all operational points and across 

3 a variety of scales to assure system integrity 

4 spanning large areas. 

5 ‘‘(C) Accurate material lifecycle predictions 

6 and simulation platforms to forecast pipeline 

7 health. 

8 ‘‘(D) Secure real time autonomous moni9 toring and repair capabilities. 

10 ‘‘(E) Mapping and monitoring of struc11 tural health parameters, such as corrosion. 

12 ‘‘(7) Self-healing and self-repair functionalities, 

13 including by chemical treatment methods. 

14 ‘‘(8) Autonomous robotic and patch tech15 nologies for inspection and repair. 

16 ‘‘(9) Dynamic compressor technologies, includ17 ing retrofit kits for existing compressor systems. 

18 ‘‘(10) Strategies and technologies for integrated 

19 cybersecurity considerations and countering 

20 cyberattacks. 

21 ‘‘(11) Technologies and methods to reduce po22 tential environmental impacts, including at the at23 mospheric and subsurface level, associated with pipe24 lines, liquefied natural gas facilities, and gas and liq25 uid fuel storage facilities, such as equipment failure. 


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1 ‘‘(12) Tools to evaluate geographical pipeline 

2 data for the feasibility of repurposing existing infra3 structure for safe and effective transport and use of 

4 alternative fuels, blends, and carbon dioxide. 

5 ‘‘(13) Tools and technologies applicable to im6 proving the safety, operation, and efficiency of lique7 fied natural gas facilities and gas and liquid fuel 

8 storage facilities. 

9 ‘‘(c) SELECTION REQUIREMENTS.—In selecting eligi10 ble entities for demonstration projects under the Initiative, 

11 the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 

12 take the following actions: 

13 ‘‘(1) Encourage regional diversity among eligi14 ble entities, including participation by such entities 

15 located in rural States. 

16 ‘‘(2) Prioritize technological diversity among eli17 gible entities. 

18 ‘‘(3) Prioritize a diverse mix of energy, sub19 stances, fuel sources, and byproducts, including the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(A) Gas and liquid hydrocarbons, includ22 ing natural gas, renewable natural gas, meth23 ane, ethane, and liquefied natural gas. 

24 ‘‘(B) Carbon dioxide. 

25 ‘‘(C) Hydrogen. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Biofuels. 

2 ‘‘(E) Water. 

3 ‘‘(F) Substances in the hydrogen supply 

4 chain, including ammonia and liquid organic 

5 hydrogen carriers. 

6 ‘‘(G) Blends of gases or liquids, including 

7 hydrogen blends. 

8 ‘‘(H) Any other source the Secretary deter9 mines appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(4) Prioritize projects that leverage and are 

11 complementary to existing energy infrastructure. 

12 ‘‘(5) Prioritize projects that leverage matching 

13 funds from non-Federal sources. 

14 ‘‘(6) Ensure that selected projects are coordi15 nated with or expand on the existing technology 

16 demonstration programs of the Department. 

17 ‘‘(7) Evaluate projects and topics for technical 

18 performance and economic feasibility as part of 

19 lifecycle assessments for return on investment im20 pact. 

21 ‘‘(8) Prioritize projects that can quantifiably re22 duce the environmental impacts of pipelines and as23 sociated infrastructure on air, water, or soil quality 

24 in all regions of the United States, especially in un25 derserved and rural communities. 


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1 ‘‘(d) LOCATION.—To the maximum extent prac2 ticable, demonstration projects under the Initiative shall 

3 be located on sites with existing research infrastructure 

4 or with the ability to coordinate with existing Department 

5 user facilities and research centers. 

6 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Out of 

7 funds authorized to be appropriated for— 

8 ‘‘(1) the Office of Energy Efficiency and Re9 newable Energy, and 

10 ‘‘(2) the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon 

11 Management, 

12 pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (6), respectively, of sec13 tion 10771 of subtitle O of title VI of the Research and 

14 Development, Competition, and Innovation Act (enacted 

15 as division B of Public Law 117–167), there is authorized 

16 to be appropriated to the Secretary of Energy to carry 

17 out this section $45,000,000 for fiscal year 2025, and 

18 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2029. 

19 ‘‘(f) SUNSET.—This section shall terminate five years 

20 after the date of the enactment of this section.’’. 

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

22 in section 1(b) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs 

23 Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to sec24 tion 40343 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 40344. Advanced pipeline materials and technologies demonstration initiative.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. JOINT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap3 propriations, the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec4 retary of Transportation and the Director of the National 

5 Institute of Standards and Technology, and in coordina6 tion with the demonstration initiative established pursuant 

7 to section 40344 of the Infrastructure Investment and 

8 Jobs Act (Public Law 117–58), as added by section 4, 

9 shall establish within the Department a joint research and 

10 development program (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Joint 

11 Program’’) to carry out research projects that— 

12 (1) develop cost-effective advanced materials 

13 and technologies for pipeline transportation systems 

14 at different scales; 

15 (2) enable the commercialization of innovative 

16 materials and technologies for pipeline transpor17 tation systems; 

18 (3) support the development of technical stand19 ards of innovative materials and technologies for 

20 pipeline transportation systems; and 

21 (4) are at a low technology readiness level and 

22 not pursued by the Pipeline Safety Research Pro23 gram of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safe24 ty Administration of the Department of Transpor25 tation. 


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1 (b) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—Not later 

2 than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

3 the Secretary shall enter into or update an existing memo4 randum of understanding with the Secretary of Transpor5 tation and the Director of the National Institute of Stand6 ards and Technology to administer the Joint Program. 

7 Such memorandum shall require each participating agency 

8 to— 

9 (1) identify unique research capabilities to con10 tribute while avoiding duplication of existing efforts; 

11 and 

12 (2) include cost sharing and cost reimburse13 ment abilities among participating agencies, includ14 ing any reviews, approvals, trainings, or resource 

15 outlays that will be required. 

16 (c) INFRASTRUCTURE.—In carrying out the Joint 

17 Program, the Secretary, the Secretary of Transportation, 

18 and the Director of the National Institute of Standards 

19 and Technology shall— 

20 (1) use existing research infrastructure at— 

21 (A) Department of Energy facilities, in22 cluding National Laboratories; 

23 (B) Department of Transportation initia24 tives, including any such initiatives carried out 


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1 through the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

2 Safety Administration; and 

3 (C) the National Institute of Standards 

4 and Technology; and 

5 (2) develop new infrastructure for potential 

6 projects, if appropriate. 

7 (d) GOALS AND METRICS.—The Secretary, the Sec8 retary of Transportation, and the Director of the National 

9 Institute of Standards and Technology shall develop goals 

10 and metrics for each agency in meeting technological 

11 progress under the Joint Program, consistent with exist12 ing United States energy safety, resilience, and security 

13 policies. 

14 (e) SELECTION OF PROJECTS.—To the maximum ex15 tent practicable, the Secretary, the Secretary of Transpor16 tation, and the Director of the National Institute of 

17 Standards and Technology shall ensure the following with 

18 respect to the Joint Program: 

19 (1) Projects are carried out under conditions 

20 that represent a variety of geographies, physical con21 ditions, and market constraints. 

22 (2) Projects represent an appropriate balance of 

23 the following: 

24 (A) Larger, higher-cost projects. 

25 (B) Smaller, lower-cost projects. 


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1 (3) To the maximum extent practicable, 

2 projects are transferred between participating agen3 cies based on the stage of research and capabilities 

4 of each agency. 

5 (f) PRIORITY.—In carrying out the Joint Program, 

6 the Secretary, the Director of the National Institute of 

7 Standards and Technology, and the Secretary of Trans8 portation shall, through consultation with the demonstra9 tion initiative established pursuant to section 40344 of the 

10 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117– 

11 58), as added by section 4, to identify and advance areas 

12 of research most needed for demonstration projects under 

13 such demonstration initiative, give priority to research and 

14 demonstration projects that— 

15 (1) are likely to be of value to such demonstra16 tion initiative; and 

17 (2) are done in coordination with, or advance 

18 knowledge critical to, the National Pipeline Mod19 ernization Center established pursuant to section 6. 

20 (g) RELATION TO EXISTING LAW.—Nothing in this 

21 section may be construed to change existing agency roles, 

22 responsibilities, or areas of expertise as described in sec23 tion 12 of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 

24 (Public Law 107–355; 49 U.S.C. 60101 note). 


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1 (h) SUNSET.—This section shall terminate five years 

2 after the date of the enactment of this section. 

3 SEC. 6. NATIONAL PIPELINE MODERNIZATION CENTER. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the demonstration 

5 initiative established pursuant to section 40344 of the In6 frastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117– 

7 58), as added by section 4, and the Joint Program and 

8 subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary 

9 shall establish a National Pipeline Modernization Center 

10 (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Center’’), which shall focus 

11 on collaborating with industry and stakeholders to coordi12 nate and carry out research, development, and demonstra13 tion projects focused on commercializing cost-effective 

14 products and procedures aligned with the goals and prior15 ities set forth by the Department. 

16 (b) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall administer the 

17 Center in conjunction with an eligible entity pursuant to 

18 an agreement between the Department and such entity. 

19 Such entity shall be selected on a competitive, merit-re20 viewed basis. 

21 (c) EXISTING CENTERS.—In administering the Cen22 ter, the Secretary shall prioritize higher education energy23 related research centers in existence as of the date of the 

24 enactment of this Act. 


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1 (d) PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE.—An agreement 

2 under subsection (b) shall be for a period of not more than 

3 five years, subject to the availability of appropriations. 

4 (e) LOCATION.—The Center shall be located in prox5 imity to critical transportation infrastructure connecting 

6 to an existing national pipeline transportation system and 

7 other Department monitoring assets, as determined by the 

8 Secretary. 

9 (f) COORDINATION WITH TRAINING AND QUALIFICA10 TIONS CENTER.—In carrying out the functions described 

11 in subsection (a), the Center shall coordinate and collabo12 rate with training centers of the Pipeline and Hazardous 

13 Materials Safety Administration of the Department of 

14 Transportation to facilitate knowledge sharing among, 

15 and enhanced training opportunities for, Federal and 

16 State pipeline safety inspectors and investigators. 

17 (g) DUPLICATION.—The Secretary shall ensure the 

18 coordination of, and avoid unnecessary duplication of, the 

19 activities under this section with the National Center of 

20 Excellence for Liquefied Natural Gas Safety established 

21 pursuant to section 111 of the Protecting our Infrastruc22 ture of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2020 (49 

23 U.S.C. 60103 note; Public Law 116–260, div. R, title I). 


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1 SEC. 7. NIST PIPELINE METROLOGY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap3 propriations, the Director of the National Institute of 

4 Standards and Technology shall carry out a program of 

5 measurement research, development, demonstration, and 

6 standardization to— 

7 (1) ensure the integrity of pipeline facilities; 

8 and 

9 (2) support pipeline safety, security, efficiency, 

10 sustainability, and resilience. 

11 (b) TESTING.—The Director of the National Institute 

12 of Standards and Technology, in collaboration with the 

13 Secretary of the Department of Transportation and in 

14 consultation with the private sector and international 

15 standards organizations, shall support testing, evaluation, 

16 and research infrastructure to support the activities de17 scribed in subsection (a). 

18 (c) ALLOCATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—From 

19 amounts appropriated or otherwise made available for the 

20 National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Di21 rector of the National Institute of Standards and Tech22 nology shall allocate up to $2,500,000 for each of fiscal 

23 years 2025 through 2029 to carry out this section. 

24 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

25 (a) IN GENERAL.—Out of funds authorized to be ap26 propriated for the Office of Energy Efficiency and RenewVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:31 Sep 26, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7073.RFS H7073

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1 able Energy and the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon 

2 Management pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (6), respec3 tively, of section 10771 of subtitle O of title VI of the 

4 Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation 

5 Act (enacted as division B of Public Law 117–167), there 

6 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

7 out— 

8 (1) section 5, $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2025, 

9 and $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 

10 through 2029; and 

11 (2) section 6, $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2025, 

12 and $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 

13 through 2029. 

14 (b) OFFSET.—Section 10771 of subtitle O of title VI 

15 of the Research and Development, Competition, and Inno16 vation Act (enacted as division B of Public Law 117–167) 

17 is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

19 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

20 (A), by striking ‘‘2026’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

21 and 

22 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

23 ‘‘1,200,000,000’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘$1,100,000,000’’; and 

25 (2) in subsection (6)— 


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1 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

2 (A), by striking ‘‘2026’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

3 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

4 ‘‘600,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$445,000,000’’; 

5 (C) in subparagraph (B)— 

6 (i) by striking ‘‘200,000,000’’ and in7 serting ‘‘$100,000,000’’; and 

8 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semi9 colon; 

10 (D) in subparagraph (C)— 

11 (i) by striking ‘‘1,000,000,000’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘$900,000,000’’; and 

13 (ii) by striking the period and insert14 ing ‘‘; and’’; and 

15 (E) by adding at the end the following new 

16 subparagraph: 

17 ‘‘(D) $455,000,000 to carry out pipeline 

18 research, development, demonstration, and com19 mercial application activities.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 24, 

2024. 

Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 

Clerk. 


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