I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8273 

To establish programs and authorities to facilitate the commercial application 

of clean energy and related technologies in the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020 

Ms. JOHNSON of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

A BILL 

To establish programs and authorities to facilitate the commercial application of clean energy and related technologies in the United States. 

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 ‘‘Energizing Technology Transfer Act’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 


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TITLE I—NATIONAL CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER 

PROGRAMS 

Sec. 101. Regional clean energy innovation program. 

Sec. 102. National clean energy incubator program. 

Sec. 103. Clean energy technology university prize competition. 

Sec. 104. Clean energy technology transfer coordination. 

TITLE II—SUPPORTING TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AT THE 

NATIONAL LABORATORIES 

Sec. 201. Lab partnering service pilot program. 

Sec. 202. Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program. 

Sec. 203. Small business voucher program. 

Sec. 204. Entrepreneurial leave program. 

Sec. 205. National laboratory employee outside employment authority. 

Sec. 206. Technology commercialization fund. 

Sec. 207. Signature authority. 

TITLE III—DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY MODERNIZATION 

Sec. 301. Technology Transfer Program. 

Sec. 302. Management of demonstration projects. 

Sec. 303. Streamlining prize competitions. 

Sec. 304. Milestone-based demonstration projects. 

Sec. 305. Cost-share waiver extension. 

Sec. 306. Special hiring authority for scientific, engineering, and project management personnel. 

Sec. 307. Technology transfer reports and evaluation. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) In order to achieve domestic and inter4 national net-zero greenhouse gas emissions targets, 

5 a rapid and substantial investment in clean energy 

6 innovation is needed. 

7 (2) Clean energy technologies face unique ob8 stacles to successful commercial application, includ9 ing high up-front capital costs, long development 

10 times, and the need to displace incumbent tech11 nologies in highly regulated markets. 


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1 (3) Multiple technology development and fi2 nancing gaps exist in the clean energy innovation 

3 and commercial application landscape that are not 

4 currently met by private sector investment alone. 

5 (4) Federal investments in technology transfer 

6 and demonstration programs help fill existing gaps 

7 in the innovation cycle and improve the likelihood of 

8 successful and timely commercial application of 

9 clean energy technologies. 

10 (5) To maximize clean energy innovation’s posi11 tive impact on United States economic competitive12 ness and reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, 

13 the Department of Energy must show significant 

14 leadership in enabling the transfer of new tech15 nologies to the private sector, particularly through 

16 the Office of Technology Transitions. 

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this Act: 

19 (1) CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGY.—The term 

20 ‘‘clean energy technology’’ means a technology that 

21 significantly reduces energy use, increases energy ef22 ficiency, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, reduces 

23 emissions of other pollutants, or mitigates other neg24 ative environmental consequences. 


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

2 means the Department of Energy. 

3 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

4 the Director of each National Laboratory and the 

5 Director of each Department of Energy single-pur6 pose research facility. 

7 (4) ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED AREA.—The 

8 term ‘‘economically distressed area’’ has the mean9 ing described in section 301(a) of the Public Works 

10 and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 

11 3161(a)). 

12 (5) GRANT.—The term ‘‘grant’’ means a grant 

13 award, cooperative agreement award, or any other fi14 nancial assistance arrangement that the Secretary of 

15 Energy determines to be appropriate. 

16 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

17 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

18 meaning given such term in the Higher Education 

19 Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

20 (7) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na21 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given that term 

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

23 U.S.C. 15801). 

24 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

25 the Secretary of Energy. 


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1 TITLE I—NATIONAL CLEAN EN2 ERGY TECHNOLOGY TRANS3 FER PROGRAMS 

4 SEC. 101. REGIONAL CLEAN ENERGY INNOVATION PRO5 GRAM. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) REGIONAL CLEAN ENERGY INNOVATION

8 PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘regional clean energy in9 novation partnership’’ means a group of one or more 

10 persons, including a covered consortium, who per11 form a collection of activities that are coordinated by 

12 such covered consortium to carry out the purposes 

13 of the program under subsection (c) in a region of 

14 the United States. 

15 (2) COVERED CONSORTIUM.—The term ‘‘cov16 ered consortium’’ means an individual or group of 

17 individuals in partnership with a government entity, 

18 including a State, local, or tribal government or unit 

19 of such government, and at least 2 or more of the 

20 following additional entities— 

21 (A) an institution of higher education or 

22 higher education consortium; 

23 (B) a workforce training provider, includ24 ing vocational schools and community colleges; 

25 (C) a private sector entity; 


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1 (D) a nonprofit organization; 

2 (E) a community group; 

3 (F) a labor group; 

4 (G) a National Laboratory; 

5 (H) a venture development organization; 

6 (I) an organization focused on clean energy 

7 technology innovation or entrepreneurship; 

8 (J) a business accelerator or incubator; 

9 (K) a private sector entity or group of en10 tities, including a trade or industry association; 

11 (L) an economic development organization; 

12 (M) a manufacturing facility or organiza13 tion; 

14 (N) a clean energy incubator or accel15 erator; or 

16 (O) any other entity that the Secretary de17 termines to be relevant. 

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

19 the Regional Clean Energy Innovation Program au20 thorized in subsection (b). 

21 (4) FRONTLINE COMMUNITY.—The term 

22 ‘‘frontline community’’ means a community with sig23 nificant representation of communities of color, low24 income communities, or Tribal and indigenous com25 munities, that experiences, or is at risk of experiVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:40 Sep 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8273.IH H8273

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1 encing higher or more adverse human health or envi2 ronmental effects. 

3 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

4 Regional Clean Energy Innovation Program, a research, 

5 development, demonstration, and commercial application 

6 program designed to accelerate the pace of innovation of 

7 clean energy technologies through the formation or sup8 port of regional clean energy innovation partnerships 

9 that— 

10 (1) are responsive to the energy resources, 

11 needs of industry, workforce, policy landscape, and 

12 clean energy innovation capabilities of the region of 

13 the country in which such partnership is located; 

14 (2) enhance and accelerate clean energy innova15 tion; and 

16 (3) are located in diverse geographic regions of 

17 the United States, including United States terri18 tories. 

19 (c) PURPOSES OF THE PROGRAM.—The purposes of 

20 the program established under subsection (a) are to— 

21 (1) improve the competitiveness of United 

22 States clean energy technology research, develop23 ment, demonstration, and commercial application; 

24 and 


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1 (2) support the development of tools and tech2 nologies best suited for use in low-income and front3 line communities. 

4 (d) REGIONAL CLEAN ENERGY INNOVATION PART5 NERSHIPS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall competi7 tively award grants to covered consortia to establish 

8 or support regional clean energy innovation partner9 ships that achieve the purposes of the program in 

10 subsection (c). 

11 (2) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Grants awarded 

12 under this subsection shall be used for activities de13 termined appropriate by the Secretary to achieve the 

14 purposes of the program in subsection (c), includ15 ing— 

16 (A) facilitating the commercial application 

17 of clean energy products, processes, and serv18 ices, including through research, development, 

19 demonstration, technology transfer, or support 

20 of clean energy companies; 

21 (B) planning among participants of a re22 gional clean energy innovation partnership to 

23 improve the strategic coordination of the part24 nership; 


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1 (C) improving stakeholder involvement in 

2 the development of goals and activities of a re3 gional clean energy innovation partnership; 

4 (D) assessing different incentive mecha5 nisms for clean energy development and com6 mercial application in the region; 

7 (E) hosting events and conferences; and 

8 (F) establishing and updating roadmaps to 

9 measure progress on relevant goals, such as 

10 those relevant to metrics developed under sub11 section (h). 

12 (3) APPLICATIONS.—Each application sub13 mitted to the Secretary under paragraph (1) may in14 clude— 

15 (A) a list of members and roles of mem16 bers of the covered consortia, as well as any 

17 other stakeholders supporting the activities of 

18 the regional clean energy innovation partner19 ship; 

20 (B) a description of the proposed outcomes 

21 of the regional clean energy innovation partner22 ship; 

23 (C) an assessment of the relevant clean en24 ergy innovation assets needed in a region to 

25 achieve proposed outcomes, such as education 


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1 and training programs, research facilities, infra2 structure or site development, access to capital, 

3 manufacturing capabilities, or other assets; 

4 (D) a description of proposed activities 

5 that the regional clean energy innovation part6 nership plans to undertake and how the pro7 posed activities will achieve the purposes de8 scribed in subsection (c) and the proposed out9 comes in subparagraph (B); 

10 (E) a description of the geographical re11 gion that will engage in the partnership; 

12 (F) a plan for attracting additional funds 

13 and identification of funding sources from non14 Federal sources to deliver the proposed out15 comes of the regional clean energy innovation 

16 partnership; and 

17 (G) a plan for sustaining activities of the 

18 regional clean energy innovation partnership 

19 after funds received under this program have 

20 been expended. 

21 (4) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting covered 

22 consortia for funding under the program, the Sec23 retary shall— 


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1 (A) give special consideration to applica2 tions from entities located in an economically 

3 distressed area; and 

4 (B) ensure that there is geographic diver5 sity among the covered consortia selected to re6 ceive funding. 

7 (5) AWARD AMOUNT.—Grants given out under 

8 this Program shall be in an amount not greater than 

9 $10,000,000, with the total grant award in any year 

10 less than that in the previous year. 

11 (6) COST SHARE.—For grants that are dis12 bursed over the course of three or more years, the 

13 Secretary shall require, as a condition of receipt of 

14 funds under this section, that a covered consortium 

15 provide not less than 50 percent of the funding for 

16 the activities of the regional clean energy partner17 ship under this section for years 3, 4, and 5. 

18 (7) DURATION.—Each grant under paragraph 

19 (1) shall be for a period of not longer than 5 years. 

20 (8) RENEWAL.—A grant award made to a re21 gional clean energy innovation partnership under 

22 this section may be renewed for a period of not more 

23 than 5 years, subject to a rigorous merit review 

24 based on the progress of a regional clean energy in25 novation partnership towards achieving the purposes 


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1 of the program in section (c) and the metrics devel2 oped under section (h). 

3 (9) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The Secretary 

4 may allow a covered consortium that receives funds 

5 under this section to allocate a portion of the fund6 ing received to be used for administrative or indirect 

7 costs. 

8 (10) FUNDING.—The Secretary may accept 

9 funds from other Federal agencies to support fund10 ing and activities under this section. 

11 (e) PLANNING FUNDS.—The Secretary may competi12 tively award grants in an amount no greater than 

13 $2,000,000 for a period not longer than 2 years to an enti14 ty consisting of a government entity, including a State, 

15 local, or tribal government or unit of such government or 

16 any entity listed under subsection (a)(2) to plan a regional 

17 clean energy innovation partnership or establish a covered 

18 consortium for the purpose of applying for funds under 

19 subsection (b). 

20 (f) INFORMATION SHARING.—As part of the pro21 gram, the Secretary shall support the gathering, analysis, 

22 and dissemination of information on best practices for de23 veloping and operating successful regional clean energy in24 novation partnerships. 


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1 (g) METRICS.—In evaluating a grant renewals under 

2 section (d)(8), the Secretary shall work with program eval3 uation experts to develop and make publicly available 

4 metrics to assess the progress of a regional clean energy 

5 innovation partnership towards achieving the purposes of 

6 the program in section (c). Such metrics may include— 

7 (1) the number and quality of— 

8 (A) new clean energy companies created in 

9 the region as a result of activities carried out 

10 under the regional clean energy innovation part11 nership; 

12 (B) new or expanded workforce develop13 ment or training programs; and 

14 (C) support services provided to clean en15 ergy technology developers in the region; 

16 (2) changes in clean energy employment in the 

17 region as a result of activities carried out under the 

18 regional clean energy innovation partnership; and 

19 (3) the amount of capital investment in clean 

20 energy companies in the region as a result of activi21 ties carried out under the regional clean energy in22 novation partnership grant. 

23 (h) COORDINATION.—In carrying out the program, 

24 the Secretary may coordinate with relevant programs at 

25 other Federal agencies, including— 


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1 (1) the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneur2 ship under the Economic Development Administra3 tion, including the Regional Innovation Program 

4 under section 27 of the Stevenson-Wydler Tech5 nology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3722); 

6 (2) the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Part7 nership Program under section 25(a) of the National 

8 Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 

9 U.S.C. 278k); 

10 (3) the Manufacturing USA Program under 

11 section 34(a) of the National Institute of Standards 

12 and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278s); 

13 (4) the Defense Manufacturing Communities 

14 Support Program under section 846 of the John S. 

15 McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fis16 cal Year 2019 (10 U.S.C. 2501 note); and 

17 (5) the Office of Economic Adjustment at the 

18 Department of Defense. 

19 (i) EVALUATION BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—Not 

20 later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this 

21 Act, and every 3 years thereafter, the Comptroller General 

22 shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

23 Technology of the House of Representatives and the Com24 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 


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1 an evaluation on the operation of the program during the 

2 most recent 3-year period, including— 

3 (1) an assessment of the progress made towards 

4 achieving the purposes specified in subsection (c) 

5 based on the metrics developed under subsection (h); 

6 (2) the short-term and long-term metrics used 

7 to determine the success of the program under sub8 section (h), and any changes recommended to the 

9 metrics used; 

10 (3) the regional clean energy innovation part11 nerships that have received grants under subsection 

12 (d); and 

13 (4) any recommendations on how the program 

14 may be improved. 

15 (j) NATIONAL LABORATORIES.—In supporting tech16 nology transfer activities at the National Laboratories, the 

17 Secretary shall encourage partnerships with entities that 

18 are located in the same region or State as the National 

19 Laboratory. 

20 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

22 out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 

23 through 2025. 


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1 SEC. 102. NATIONAL CLEAN ENERGY INCUBATOR PRO2 GRAM. 

3 (a) CLEAN ENERGY INCUBATOR DEFINED.—In this 

4 section, the term ‘‘clean energy incubator’’— 

5 (1) means any entity that is designed to accel6 erate the commercial application of clean energy 

7 technologies by providing— 

8 (A) physical workspace, labs, and proto9 typing facilities to support clean energy 

10 startups or established clean energy companies; 

11 or 

12 (B) companies developing such tech13 nologies with support, resources, and services, 

14 including— 

15 (i) access to business education and 

16 counseling; 

17 (ii) mentorship opportunities; and 

18 (iii) other services rendered for the 

19 purpose of aiding the development and 

20 commercial application of a clean energy 

21 technology; and 

22 (2) may include a program within or established 

23 by a National Laboratory, an institution of higher 

24 education or a State, local, or tribal government. 

25 (b) PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 

26 days after the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting 


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1 through the Technology Transfer Coordinator established 

2 in section 1001(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

3 U.S.C. 16391(a)), shall establish a Clean Energy Incu4 bator Program (herein referred to as the ‘‘program’’) to 

5 competitively award grants to clean energy incubators. 

6 (c) CLEAN ENERGY INCUBATOR SELECTION.—In 

7 awarding grants to clean energy incubators under sub8 section (b), the Secretary shall prioritize funding clean en9 ergy incubators that— 

10 (1) partner with entities that carry out activi11 ties relevant to the activities of such incubator and 

12 that operate at the local, State, and regional levels; 

13 (2) support the commercial application activi14 ties of startup companies focused on physical hard15 ware, computational, or integrated hardware and 

16 software technologies; 

17 (3) are located in geographically diverse regions 

18 of the United States; 

19 (4) are located in, or partner with entities lo20 cated in, economically-distressed areas; 

21 (5) support the development of entities focused 

22 on expanding clean energy tools and technologies to 

23 low-income and frontline communities; 


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1 (6) support the commercial application of tech2 nologies being developed by clean energy entre3 preneurs from underrepresented backgrounds; and 

4 (7) have a plan for sustaining activities of the 

5 incubator after grant funds received under this pro6 gram have been expended. 

7 (d) AWARD LIMITS.—The Secretary shall not award 

8 more than $4,000,000 to one or more incubators in one 

9 given State, per fiscal year. 

10 (e) DURATION.—Each grant under subsection (b) 

11 shall be for a period of no longer than 5 years, subject 

12 to the availability of appropriations. 

13 (f) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity receiving a grant 

14 under this section may use grant amounts for operating 

15 expenses. 

16 (g) RENEWAL.—An award made to a clean energy 

17 incubator under this section may be renewed for a period 

18 of not more than 3 years, subject to merit review. 

19 (h) EVALUATION.—In accordance with section 307(b) 

20 of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 3 years after the 

21 enactment of this Act and every 3 years thereafter to the 

22 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

23 House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 

24 and Natural Resources of the Senate an evaluation of the 


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1 program established under this section that includes anal2 yses of the performance of the clean energy incubators. 

3 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

5 out this section $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 

6 through 2025. 

7 SEC. 103. CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY PRIZE 

8 COMPETITION. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti11 ty’’ means a nonprofit entity, an institution of high12 er education, or an entity working with one or more 

13 institutes of higher education. 

14 (2) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 

15 term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means an insti16 tution described in section 371(a) of the Higher 

17 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)). 

18 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

19 program, known as the ‘‘Clean Energy Technology Uni20 versity Prize’’, to award funding for eligible entities to 

21 carry out regional and one national clean energy tech22 nology prize competitions, under section 24 of the Steven23 son-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 

24 3719). In carrying out such prize competitions, students 

25 shall compete to develop a business model for furthering 


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1 the commercial application of an innovative clean energy 

2 technology. The purpose of this program is to encourage 

3 student interest in clean energy technology development 

4 and to help students solve challenges in clean energy tech5 nology commercial application, with participation from di6 verse geographical regions of the United States. 

7 (c) TRAINING FUNDING.—In carrying out this pro8 gram, the Secretary may provide funding to train partici9 pating students in skills needed for the successful commer10 cial application of clean energy technologies, including 

11 through virtual training sessions. 

12 (d) PRIORITIZATION.—In awarding grants under this 

13 section, the Secretary shall prioritize awarding grants to 

14 eligible entities that work with students at minority-serv15 ing institutions. 

16 (e) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this program, 

17 the Secretary shall coordinate and partner with existing 

18 clean energy technology prize competitions. In doing so, 

19 the Secretary may develop and disseminate best practices 

20 for administering prize competitions under this section. 

21 (f) REPORT.—In accordance with section 307(a) of 

22 this Act, the Secretary shall report annually on the 

23 progress and implementation of the program established 

24 under section (b). 


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1 (g) EVALUATION.—In accordance with section 307(b) 

2 of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 3 years after the 

3 enactment of this Act and every 3 years thereafter to the 

4 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

5 House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 

6 and Natural Resources of the Senate an evaluation on the 

7 long-term outcomes of the program established under this 

8 section and the progress towards achieving the purposes 

9 of the program in subsection (b). 

10 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

12 out the activities authorized in this section $1,000,000 for 

13 each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025. 

14 SEC. 104. CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER CO15 ORDINATION. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 

17 Technology Transfer Coordinator established in section 

18 1001(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

19 16391(a)), shall support the coordination of relevant tech20 nology transfer programs, including those authorized in 

21 sections 101, 102, 103, 202, and 206 of this Act, that 

22 advance the commercial application of clean energy tech23 nologies nationally and across all energy sectors. In par24 ticular, the Secretary may support activities to— 


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1 (1) facilitate the sharing of information on best 

2 practices for successful operation of clean energy 

3 technology transfer programs; 

4 (2) coordinate resources and improve coopera5 tion among clean energy technology transfer pro6 grams; 

7 (3) facilitate connections between entrepreneurs 

8 and start-up companies and the variety of programs 

9 related to clean energy technology transfer under the 

10 Department; and 

11 (4) facilitate the development of metrics to 

12 measure the impact of clean energy technology 

13 transfer programs on— 

14 (A) advancing the development, demonstra15 tion, and commercial application of clean en16 ergy technologies; 

17 (B) increasing the competitiveness of 

18 United States in the clean energy sector, in19 cluding in manufacturing; and 

20 (C) commercial application of clean energy 

21 technologies being developed by entrepreneurs 

22 from under-represented backgrounds. 

23 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 


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1 out the activities in this section $3,000,000 for each of 

2 fiscal years 2021 through 2025. 

3 TITLE II—SUPPORTING TECH4 NOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AT 

5 THE NATIONAL LABORA6 TORIES 

7 SEC. 201. LAB PARTNERING SERVICE PILOT PROGRAM. 

8 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

10 through the Technology Transfer Coordinator estab11 lished in section 1001(a) of the Energy Policy Act 

12 of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16391(a)), shall establish a Lab 

13 Partnering Service Pilot Program (hereinafter in 

14 this section referred to as the ‘‘pilot program’’). 

15 (2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the pilot pro16 gram are to provide services that encourage and 

17 support partnerships between the National Labora18 tories and public and private sector entities, and to 

19 improve communication of research, development, 

20 demonstration, and commercial application projects 

21 and opportunities at the National Laboratories to 

22 potential partners through the development of a 

23 website and the provision of services, in collaboration 

24 with relevant external entities. 


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1 (3) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out this pilot pro2 gram, the Secretary shall— 

3 (A) conduct outreach to and engage with 

4 relevant public and private entities; 

5 (B) identify and disseminate best practices 

6 for strengthening connections between the Na7 tional Laboratories and public and private sec8 tor entities; and 

9 (C) develop a website to disseminate infor10 mation on— 

11 (i) different partnering mechanisms 

12 for working with the National Labora13 tories; 

14 (ii) National Laboratory experts and 

15 research areas; and 

16 (iii) National Laboratory facilities and 

17 user facilities. 

18 (b) METRICS.—The Secretary shall support the de19 velopment of metrics, including conversion metrics, to de20 termine the effectiveness of the pilot program in achieving 

21 the purposes in subsection (a) and the number and types 

22 of partnerships established between public and private sec23 tor entities and the National Laboratories compared to 

24 baseline data. 


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1 (c) COORDINATION.—In carrying out the activities 

2 authorized in this section, the Secretary shall coordinate 

3 with the Directors and dedicated technology transfer staff 

4 at the National Laboratories, in particular for match5 making services for individual projects, which should be 

6 led by the National Laboratories. 

7 (d) FUNDING EMPLOYEE PARTNERING ACTIVI8 TIES.—The Secretary shall delegate to the Directors the 

9 authority to compensate National Laboratory employees 

10 providing services under this section. 

11 (e) DURATION.—Subject to the availability of appro12 priations, the pilot program established in this section 

13 shall operate for not less than 3 years and may be built 

14 off an existing program. 

15 (f) EVALUATION.—Not later than 6 months after the 

16 completion of this pilot program, the Secretary shall sup17 port the evaluation of the success of the pilot program in 

18 achieving the purposes in subsection (a) and shall submit 

19 the evaluation to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

20 Technology of the House of Representatives and the Com21 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. 

22 The assessment shall include analyses of the performance 

23 of the pilot program based on the metrics developed under 

24 subsection (b). 


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1 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

3 $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2023 

4 to carry out subsections (a), (b), (c), (e), and (f) and 

5 $1,700,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2023 

6 for national laboratory employees to provide services under 

7 subsection (d). 

8 SEC. 202. LAB-EMBEDDED ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall competitively 

10 award grants to National Laboratories for the purpose of 

11 establishing or supporting Lab-Embedded Entrepreneur12 ship Programs. 

13 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of such programs are 

14 to provide entrepreneurial fellows with access to National 

15 Laboratory research facilities, National Laboratory exper16 tise, and mentorship to perform research and development 

17 and gain expertise that may be required or beneficial for 

18 the commercial application of research ideas. 

19 (c) ENTREPRENEURIAL FELLOWS.—An entrepre20 neurial fellow participating in a program described in sub21 section (a) shall be provided with— 

22 (1) opportunities for entrepreneurial training, 

23 professional development, and exposure to leaders 

24 from academia, industry, government, and finance 


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1 who may serve as advisors to or partners of the fel2 low; 

3 (2) financial and technical support for research, 

4 development, and commercial application activities; 

5 (3) fellowship awards to cover costs of living, 

6 health insurance, and travel stipends for the dura7 tion of the fellowship; and 

8 (4) any other resources determined appropriate 

9 by the Secretary. 

10 (d) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—Each eligible entity that 

11 receives funding under this section shall support entrepre12 neurial fellows by providing— 

13 (1) access to facilities and expertise within the 

14 National Laboratory; 

15 (2) engagement with external stakeholders; and 

16 (3) market and customer development opportu17 nities. 

18 (e) ADMINISTRATION.—Eligible entities that receive 

19 grants under this section shall prioritize the support and 

20 success of the entrepreneurial fellow with regards to pro21 fessional development and development of a relevant tech22 nology. 

23 (f) PARTNERSHIPS.—In carrying out a Lab-Embed24 ded Entrepreneurship Program, a National Laboratory 

25 may partner with an external entity, including— 


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1 (1) a nonprofit organization; 

2 (2) an institution of higher education; or 

3 (3) a federally owned corporation. 

4 (g) METRICS.—The Secretary shall support the de5 velopment of short-term and long-term metrics to assess 

6 the effectiveness of programs receiving a grant under sub7 section (a) in achieving the purposes of the program in 

8 subsection (a). 

9 (h) EVALUATION.—In accordance with section 307(b) 

10 of this Act, not later than 3 years after the date of the 

11 enactment of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, the 

12 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Science, 

13 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives 

14 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 

15 the Senate an evaluation of the effectiveness of the pro16 grams under subsection (a) based on the metrics developed 

17 pursuant to subsection (g). 

18 (i) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall oversee the 

19 planning and coordination of grants under subsection (a) 

20 and shall identify and disseminate best practices for 

21 achieving the purposes of subsection (a) to eligible entities 

22 that receive grants under this section. 

23 (j) INTERAGENCY COLLABORATION.—The Secretary 

24 shall collaborate with other executive branch agencies, in25 cluding the Department of Defense and other agencies 


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1 with Federal laboratories, regarding opportunities to part2 ner with programs receiving a grant under subsection (a). 

3 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

5 out the activities authorized in this section $25,000,000 

6 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025. 

7 SEC. 203. SMALL BUSINESS VOUCHER PROGRAM. 

8 Section 1003 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

9 U.S.C. 16393) is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)— 

11 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

12 by striking ‘‘, and may require the Director of 

13 a single-purpose research facility,’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘(as defined in section 2) and the Director 

15 of each single-purpose research facility’’; 

16 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

17 (i) by striking ‘‘increase’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘encourage’’; and 

19 (ii) by striking ‘‘collaborative re20 search,’’ and inserting ‘‘research, develop21 ment, demonstration, and commercial ap22 plication activities, including product devel23 opment,’’; 

24 (C) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘procure25 ment and collaborative research’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘procurement and the activities described in 

2 paragraph (1)’’; 

3 (D) in paragraph (3)— 

4 (i) by inserting ‘‘facilities,’’ before 

5 ‘‘training’’; and 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘procurement and col7 laborative research activities’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘procurement and the activities de9 scribed in paragraph (1)’’; and 

10 (E) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘for the 

11 program under subsection (b)’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘and metrics for the programs under sub13 sections (b) and (c)’’; 

14 (2) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

15 subsections (d) and (e), respectively; 

16 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(c) SMALL BUSINESS VOUCHER PROGRAM.— 

19 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

20 ‘‘(A) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ 

21 means— 

22 ‘‘(i) the Director of each National 

23 Laboratory; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) the Director of each single-pur25 pose research facility. 


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1 ‘‘(B) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term 

2 ‘National Laboratory’ has the meaning given 

3 the term in section 2. 

4 ‘‘(C) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ 

5 means the program established under para6 graph (2). 

7 ‘‘(D) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN.—The 

8 term ‘small business concern’ has the meaning 

9 given such term in section 3 of the Small Busi10 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 

11 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

12 through the Technology Transfer Coordinator ap13 pointed under section 1001(a), and in consultation 

14 with the Directors, shall establish a program to pro15 vide small business concerns with vouchers under 

16 paragraph (3)— 

17 ‘‘(A) to achieve the goal described in sub18 section (a)(1); and 

19 ‘‘(B) to improve the products, services, and 

20 capabilities of small business concerns in the 

21 mission space of the Department. 

22 ‘‘(3) VOUCHERS.—Under the program, the Di23 rectors are authorized to provide to small business 

24 concerns vouchers to be used at National Labora25 tories and single-purpose research facilities for— 


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1 ‘‘(A) research, development, demonstra2 tion, technology transfer, or commercial appli3 cation activities; or 

4 ‘‘(B) any other activities that the applica5 ble Director determines appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(4) EXPEDITED APPROVAL.—The Secretary, 

7 working with the Directors, shall establish a stream8 lined approval process for financial assistance agree9 ments signed between— 

10 ‘‘(A) small business concerns selected to 

11 receive a voucher under the program; and 

12 ‘‘(B) the National Laboratories and single13 purpose research facilities. 

14 ‘‘(5) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.—In car15 rying out the program, the Secretary shall require 

16 cost-sharing in accordance with section 988. 

17 ‘‘(6) REPORT.—In accordance with section 

18 307(a) of the Energizing Technology Transfer Act, 

19 the Secretary shall report annually on the progress 

20 and implementation of the small business voucher 

21 program established under this section, including the 

22 number and locations of small businesses that re23 ceived grants under this program.’’; and 

24 (4) in subsection (e) (as so redesignated), by 

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1 serting ‘‘for activities under subsection (b)’’ and in2 serting at the end ‘‘and for activities under sub3 section (c) $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 

4 through 2025’’. 

5 SEC. 204. ENTREPRENEURIAL LEAVE PROGRAM. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall delegate to 

7 Directors the authority to carry out an entrepreneurial 

8 leave program (referred to in this section as the ‘‘pro9 gram’’) to allow National Laboratory employees to take 

10 a full leave of absence from their position, with the option 

11 to return to that or a comparable position up to 3 years 

12 later, or a partial leave of absence, to advance the commer13 cial application of energy and related technologies relevant 

14 to the mission of the Department. 

15 (b) TERMINATION AUTHORITY.—Directors shall re16 tain the authority to terminate National Laboratory em17 ployees that participate in the program if such employees 

18 are found to violate terms prescribed by the National Lab19 oratory at which such employee is employed. 

20 (c) LICENSING.—To reduce barriers to participation 

21 in the program, the Secretary shall delegate to the Direc22 tors the requirement to establish streamlined mechanisms 

23 for facilitating the licensing of technology that is the focus 

24 of National Laboratory employees who participate in the 

25 program. 


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1 (d) REPORT.—In accordance with section 307(a) of 

2 this Act, the Secretary shall report annually on the utiliza3 tion of this authority at national laboratories, including 

4 the number of employees who participate in this program 

5 at each national laboratory and the number of employees 

6 who take a permanent leave from their positions at na7 tional laboratories as a result of participating in this pro8 gram. 

9 (e) FEDERAL ETHICS.—Nothing in this section shall 

10 affect existing Federal ethics rules applicable to Federal 

11 personnel. 

12 SEC. 205. NATIONAL LABORATORY EMPLOYEE OUTSIDE EM13 PLOYMENT AUTHORITY. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall delegate to 

15 Directors of National Laboratories the authority to allow 

16 their employees— 

17 (1) to engage in outside employment, including 

18 start-up companies based on licensing technologies 

19 developed at National Laboratories and consulting in 

20 their areas of expertise, and receive compensation 

21 from such entities; and 

22 (2) to engage in outside activities related to 

23 their areas of expertise at the National Laboratory 

24 and may allow employees, in their employment ca25 pacity at such outside employment, to access the 


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1 National Laboratories under the same contracting 

2 mechanisms as non-laboratory employees and enti3 ties, in accordance with appropriate conflict of inter4 est protocols. 

5 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—If a Director elects to use the 

6 authority granted by subsection (a) of this section, the Di7 rector, or their designee, shall— 

8 (1) require employees to disclose to and obtain 

9 approval from the Director or their designee prior to 

10 engaging in any outside employment; 

11 (2) develop and require appropriate conflict of 

12 interest protocols for employees that engage in out13 side employment; and 

14 (3) maintain the authority to terminate employ15 ees engaging in outside employment if they are 

16 found to violate terms, including conflict of interest 

17 protocols, mandated by the Director. 

18 (c) ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS.—Employees engag19 ing in outside employment may not— 

20 (1) sacrifice, hamper, or impede their duties at 

21 the National Laboratory; 

22 (2) engage in activities related to outside em23 ployment using National Laboratory government 

24 equipment, property, or resources, unless such ac25 tivities are performed under National Laboratory 


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1 contracting mechanisms, such as Cooperative Re2 search and Development Agreement or Strategic 

3 Partnership Projects, whereby all conflicts of inter4 est requirements apply; or 

5 (3) use their position at a National Laboratory 

6 to provide an unfair competitive advantage to an 

7 outside employer or start-up activity. 

8 (d) FEDERAL ETHICS.—Nothing in this section shall 

9 affect existing Federal ethics rules applicable to Federal 

10 personnel. 

11 SEC. 206. TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION FUND. 

12 Section 1001(e) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

13 U.S.C. 16391(e)) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(a) TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION FUND.— 

15 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

16 through the Technology Transfer Coordinator estab17 lished in section 1001(a) of the Energy Policy Act 

18 of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16391(a)), shall establish a 

19 Technology Commercialization Fund (hereafter re20 ferred to as the ‘Fund’), using nine-tenths of one 

21 percent of the amount of appropriations made avail22 able to the Department for applied energy research, 

23 development, demonstration, and commercial appli24 cation for each fiscal year, to be used to provide, in 

25 accordance with the cost-sharing requirements under 


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1 section 988, funds to national laboratories to pro2 mote promising energy technologies for commercial 

3 purposes. 

4 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Secretary 

6 shall develop criteria for evaluating applications 

7 for funding under this section, which may in8 clude— 

9 ‘‘(i) the potential that a proposed 

10 technology will result in a commercially 

11 successful product within a reasonable 

12 timeframe; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the relative maturity of a pro14 posed technology for commercial applica15 tion. 

16 ‘‘(B) SELECTIONS.—In awarding funds 

17 under this section, the Secretary may give spe18 cial consideration to applications that involve at 

19 least one applicant that has participated in an 

20 entrepreneurial or commercialization training 

21 program, such as Energy Innovation Corps. 

22 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall in23 clude in the annual report required under subsection 

24 (h)(2)— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a description of the projects carried 

2 out with awards from the Fund for that fiscal 

3 year; 

4 ‘‘(B) each project’s cost-share for that fis5 cal year; and 

6 ‘‘(C) each project’s partners for that fiscal 

7 year. 

8 ‘‘(4) EVALUATION.—In accordance with section 

9 307(b) of the Energizing Technology Transfer Act, 

10 the Secretary shall submit 3 years after the enact11 ment of that Act and every 3 years thereafter to the 

12 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Com13 mittee of the House of Representatives and the 

14 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

15 Senate an evaluation on the long-term commercial 

16 success of projects that received awards from the 

17 Fund. 

18 ‘‘(5) TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION FUND

19 REPORT.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

21 after the date of enactment of the Energizing 

22 Technology Transfer Act, the Secretary shall 

23 submit to the Committee on Science, Space, 

24 and Technology and Committee on Appropria25 tions of the House of Representatives and the 


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1 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

2 and Committee on Appropriations of the Senate 

3 a report on the current and recommended im4 plementation of the Fund. 

5 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The report under sub6 paragraph (A) shall include— 

7 ‘‘(i) a summary, with supporting data, 

8 of how much Department program offices 

9 contribute to and use the Fund each year, 

10 including a list of current funding restric11 tions; 

12 ‘‘(ii) recommendations on how to im13 prove implementation and administration 

14 of the Fund; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) an analysis on how to spend 

16 funds optimally on technology areas that 

17 have the greatest need and opportunity for 

18 commercial application, rather than spend19 ing funds at the programmatic level or 

20 under current funding restrictions.’’. 

21 SEC. 207. SIGNATURE AUTHORITY. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (b) and (c), 

23 the Secretary shall delegate to Directors of the National 

24 Laboratories signature authority with respect to any 

25 agreement described in subsection (b) the total cost of 


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1 which, including the National Laboratory contributions 

2 and project recipient cost share, is less than $1,000,000, 

3 if such an agreement falls within the scope of— 

4 (1) the strategic plan for the National Labora5 tory or a master scope of work that has been ap6 proved by the Department; or 

7 (2) the most recent budget approved by Con8 gress for Department activities to be carried out by 

9 the National Laboratory. 

10 (b) AGREEMENTS.—Subsection (a) applies to— 

11 (1) a cooperative research and development 

12 agreement; 

13 (2) a strategic partnership project; 

14 (3) prize competitions; 

15 (4) an agreement for commercializing tech16 nology; or 

17 (5) any other agreement determined to be ap18 propriate by the Secretary, in collaboration with the 

19 Directors. 

20 (c) ADMINISTRATION.— 

21 (1) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Director of the af22 fected National Laboratory and the affected con23 tractor shall carry out an agreement under this sec24 tion in accordance with applicable policies of the De25 partment, including by ensuring that the agreement 


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1 does not compromise any national security, eco2 nomic, or environmental interest of the United 

3 States. 

4 (2) CERTIFICATION.—The Director of the af5 fected National Laboratory and the affected con6 tractor shall certify that each activity carried out 

7 under a project for which an agreement is entered 

8 into under this section does not present, or mini9 mizes, any apparent conflict of interest, and avoids 

10 or neutralizes any actual conflict of interest, as a re11 sult of the agreement under this section. 

12 (3) AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS.—Not later 

13 than 30 days after the date on which a Director en14 ters an agreement under this section, such Director 

15 shall submit to the Secretary for monitoring and re16 view all records of the National Laboratory relating 

17 to the agreement. 

18 (d) APPROVAL.—Upon granting the signature au19 thority under in subsection (a), the Secretary may not re20 quire any additional reviews or approvals of draft agree21 ments, statements of work, or other documents for agree22 ments that meet the criteria under subsection (a). 

23 (e) EXCEPTION.—This section does not apply to any 

24 agreement with a foreign-controlled entity or entity under 

25 the majority control of any foreign entity. 


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1 (f) REPORT.—In accordance with section 307(a) of 

2 this Act, the Secretary shall submit annually information 

3 on the number and types of agreements signed using the 

4 authorities granted under this section. 

5 (g) EVALUATION.—Not later than 3 years after the 

6 enactment of this Act the Secretary shall submit to the 

7 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

8 House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 

9 and Natural Resources of the Senate an evaluation of the 

10 efficacy of reducing administrative burden for agreements 

11 signed using the authorities granted under this section. 

12 (h) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 12 of the 

13 Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 

14 U.S.C. 3710a) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)— 

16 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 

17 (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, 

18 and indenting the subparagraphs appropriately; 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘Each Federal agency’’ 

20 and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para22 graph (2), each Federal agency’’; and 

23 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

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1 gizing Technology Transfer Act, approval by the 

2 Secretary of Energy shall not be required for any 

3 agreement proposed to be entered into by a National 

4 Laboratory of the Department of Energy, the total 

5 cost of which, including the National Laboratory 

6 contributions and project recipient cost share, is less 

7 than $1,000,000.’’; and 

8 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘subsection 

9 (a)(1)’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘sub10 section (a)(1)(A)’’. 

11 TITLE III—DEPARTMENT OF 

12 ENERGY MODERNIZATION 

13 SEC. 301. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROGRAM. 

14 Title X of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

15 16391 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 1012. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROGRAM. 

18 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall carry 

19 out a program, to be led by the Technology Transfer Coor20 dinator appointed in section 1001(a) who shall report di21 rectly to, and be appointed by, the Secretary, and shall 

22 be the principal advisor to the Secretary on all matters 

23 relating to technology transfer and commercial applica24 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(b) MISSION.—The mission of the program shall 

2 be— 

3 ‘‘(1) to expand the commercial impact of the re4 search investments of the Department; and 

5 ‘‘(2) to advance the commercial application of 

6 technologies that reduce energy use, reduce green7 house gas emissions and other pollutants, improve 

8 energy efficiency, mitigate other negative environ9 mental consequences, or support other missions of 

10 the Department. 

11 ‘‘(c) GOALS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pro13 gram, the Technology Transfer Coordinator shall, 

14 with respect to commercial application activities, 

15 meet all of the goals described in paragraph (2). 

16 ‘‘(2) GOALS DESCRIBED.—The goals referred to 

17 in paragraph (1) are the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) Reduction of greenhouse gas emis19 sions or other pollutants. 

20 ‘‘(B) Improvement of energy efficiency. 

21 ‘‘(C) Improvement of economic competi22 tiveness. 

23 ‘‘(D) Enhancement of domestic energy se24 curity and national security. 


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1 ‘‘(E) Enhancement of the domestic work2 force relevant to energy and other sectors rel3 evant to the mission of the Department. 

4 ‘‘(d) HIRING AND MANAGEMENT.—To carry out the 

5 program authorized in this section, the Under Secretary 

6 for Science may appoint personnel using the authorities 

7 in section 306 of this Act. 

8 ‘‘(e) COLLABORATION.—In carrying out the mission 

9 and activities of the program, the Technology Transfer 

10 Coordinator shall coordinate with the senior leadership of 

11 the Department, other relevant offices of the Department, 

12 the Directors, the National Laboratories, the Technology 

13 Transfer Working Group established under section 

14 1001(d), the Technology Transfer Policy Board, and other 

15 stakeholders, including private industry. 

16 ‘‘(f) REPORT.—In accordance with section 307(a) of 

17 this Act, the Secretary shall report annually on the activi18 ties carried out by this program pertaining to the mission 

19 of the program in subsection (b) and the goals in sub20 section (c). 

21 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

23 out the activities authorized in this section $20,000,000 

24 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025.’’. 


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1 SEC. 302. MANAGEMENT OF DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS. 

2 (a) MANAGEMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

3 DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—The Secretary, shall estab4 lish a program to conduct project management and over5 sight of demonstration projects that receive more than 

6 $50,000,000 in funding from the Department, in coordi7 nation with relevant staff from Department program of8 fices. The purposes of this program are to— 

9 (1) conduct evaluation of demonstration project 

10 proposals prior to selection of a project for funding; 

11 (2) conduct independent oversight of the execu12 tion of a demonstration project once funding has 

13 been awarded for such project; and 

14 (3) ensure a balanced portfolio of investments 

15 in clean energy technology demonstration projects. 

16 (b) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT MANAGEMENT EM17 PLOYEES.— 

18 (1) AUTHORITY.—In carrying out the program 

19 under subsection (a), the Under Secretary for 

20 Science shall appoint at least 2 full time employees 

21 to achieve the purposes of the program outlined in 

22 subsection (a) in coordination with relevant staff at 

23 Department program offices. 

24 (2) HIRING AUTHORITY.—To carry out the pro25 gram authorized in this section, the Under Secretary 


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1 for Science may hire personnel using the authorities 

2 in section 306 of this Act. 

3 (c) DUTIES.—In carrying out the program in sub4 section (a), employees under this section shall work with 

5 relevant staff from Department program offices to— 

6 (1) evaluate demonstration project proposals, 

7 including the scope, technical specifications, matu8 rity of design, funding profile, estimated costs, pro9 posed schedule, proposed technical and financial 

10 milestones, and potential for commercial success 

11 based on economic and policy projections; 

12 (2) develop independent cost estimates of dem13 onstration project proposals, when appropriate; 

14 (3) recommend to the director of a program of15 fice whether to fund a demonstration project pro16 posal; 

17 (4) oversee the execution of the demonstration 

18 projects that receive funding from the Department 

19 under this section and conduct reviews of ongoing 

20 projects, which may include reconciling estimated 

21 costs as compared to actual costs and evaluating 

22 progress of the project based on the proposed sched23 ule and technical and financial milestones, and pro24 vide such reviews to the Secretary; and 


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1 (5) assess lessons learned and implement im2 provements to evaluate and oversee demonstration 

3 projects carried out under this section. 

4 (d) PROJECT TERMINATION.—Should an ongoing 

5 demonstration project receive an unfavorable review under 

6 subsection (c)(4), the director of a Department program 

7 office or their designee may cease funding the demonstra8 tion project and reallocate the remaining funds to new or 

9 existing demonstration projects carried out by that pro10 gram office. 

11 (e) COORDINATION.—In establishing and carrying 

12 out the program, the Secretary shall coordinate with 

13 project management and acquisition management entities 

14 within the Department, including the Office of Project 

15 Management, and relevant professional organizations in 

16 project management, construction, cost estimation, and 

17 other relevant fields. 

18 (f) REPORTING.—In accordance with section 307(a), 

19 the Secretary shall report annually on the utilization of 

20 the authority granted under this section, including a sum21 mary of— 

22 (1) any demonstration projects currently being 

23 carried out under this section; and 


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1 (2) a summary of the reviews under subsection 

2 (c)(4) of any ongoing demonstration projects carried 

3 out under this section. 

4 (g) EVALUATION BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—Not 

5 later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this 

6 Act the Comptroller General shall submit to the Com7 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

8 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 

9 Natural Resources of the Senate an evaluation on the op10 eration of the program established under this section, in11 cluding— 

12 (1) the processes and procedures used to evalu13 ate demonstration project proposals and oversee 

14 demonstration projects that receive funding under 

15 this section; 

16 (2) any recommended changes to the program, 

17 including the structure and the processes and proce18 dures used to evaluate and oversee demonstration 

19 projects that receive funding under this section; and 

20 (3) any recommended changes to the structure 

21 of this program to improve the success in meeting 

22 the program purposes under subsection (a). 

23 SEC. 303. STREAMLINING PRIZE COMPETITIONS. 

24 Section 1008 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

25 U.S.C. 16396) is amended by inserting after subsection 


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1 (d) the following (and redesignating subsections (f) and 

2 (g) as subsections (g) and (h), respectively): 

3 ‘‘(e) COORDINATION.—In carrying out subsection (a), 

4 and for any prize competitions under section 105 of the 

5 America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote 

6 Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Reau7 thorization Act of 2010, the Secretary shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) designate at least one full time employee 

9 to serve as a Department-wide point of contact on 

10 prize competitions; 

11 ‘‘(2) issue Department-wide guidance on the de12 sign, development, and implementation of prize com13 petitions; 

14 ‘‘(3) collect and disseminate best practices on 

15 the design and administration of prize competitions; 

16 ‘‘(4) streamline contracting mechanisms for the 

17 implementation of prize competitions; and 

18 ‘‘(5) provide training and prize competition de19 sign support, as necessary, to Department staff to 

20 develop prize competitions and challenges. 

21 ‘‘(f) REPORT.—In accordance with section 307(a) of 

22 the Energizing Technology Transfer Act, the Secretary 

23 shall report annually on a description of any prize com24 petitions carried out using this authority, the total amount 

25 of prizes awarded along with any private sector contribuVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:40 Sep 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8273.IH H8273

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1 tions, the methods used for solicitation and evaluation, 

2 and a description of how each prize competition advanced 

3 the mission of the Department.’’. 

4 SEC. 304. MILESTONE-BASED DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Acting under section 646(g) of 

6 the Department of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 7256(g)), notwithstanding paragraph (10) of such section, 

8 the Secretary may carry out demonstration projects as a 

9 milestone-based demonstration project that requires par10 ticular technical and financial milestones to be met before 

11 a participant is awarded grants by the Department 

12 through a competitive award process. 

13 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out milestone14 based demonstration projects under the authority in para15 graph (1), the Secretary shall, for each relevant project— 

16 (1) request proposals from eligible entities, as 

17 determined by the Secretary, including— 

18 (A) a business plan, that may include a 

19 plan for scalable manufacturing and a plan for 

20 addressing supply chain gaps; 

21 (B) a plan for raising private sector invest22 ment; and 

23 (C) proposed technical and financial mile24 stones, including estimated project timelines 

25 and total costs; and 


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1 (2) award funding of a predetermined amount 

2 to projects that successfully meet proposed mile3 stones under paragraph (1)(C) or for expenses 

4 deemed reimbursable by the Secretary, in accordance 

5 with terms negotiated for an individual award; 

6 (3) require cost sharing in accordance with sec7 tion 988 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005; and 

8 (4) communicate regularly with selected eligible 

9 entities and, if the Secretary deems appropriate, ex10 ercise small amounts of flexibility for technical and 

11 financial milestones as projects mature. 

12 (c) AWARDS.—For the program established under 

13 subsection (a)— 

14 (1) an award recipient shall be responsible for 

15 all costs until milestones are achieved, or reimburs16 able expenses are reviewed and verified by the De17 partment; and 

18 (2) should an awardee not meet the milestones 

19 described in subsection (a), the Secretary or their 

20 designee may end the partnership with an award re21 cipient and use the remaining funds in the ended 

22 agreement for new or existing projects carried out 

23 under this section. 

24 (d) PROJECT MANAGEMENT.—In carrying out 

25 projects under this program and assessing the completion 


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1 of their milestones in accordance with subsection (b), the 

2 Secretary shall consult with experts that represent diverse 

3 perspectives and professional experiences, including those 

4 from the private sector, to ensure a complete and thorough 

5 review. 

6 (e) REPORT.—In accordance with section 307(a), the 

7 Secretary shall report annually on any demonstration 

8 projects carried out using the authorities under this sec9 tion. 

10 SEC. 305. COST-SHARE WAIVER EXTENSION. 

11 (a) Section 988 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is 

12 amended in subsection (b)(4)(B) by striking ‘‘this para13 graph’’ and inserting ‘‘the Energizing Technology Trans14 fer Act’’. 

15 (b) Section 108 of the Department of Energy Re16 search and Innovation Act is amended in subparagraph 

17 (b) by striking ‘‘this Act’’ everywhere it appears and re18 placing with ‘‘the Energizing Technology Transfer Act’’. 

19 SEC. 306. SPECIAL HIRING AUTHORITY FOR SCIENTIFIC, 

20 ENGINEERING, AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT 

21 PERSONNEL. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for Science 

23 shall have the authority to— 

24 (1) make appointments of scientific, engineer25 ing, and professional personnel, without regard to 


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1 civil service laws, to assist the Department in meet2 ing specific project or research needs; 

3 (2) fix the basic pay of any employee appointed 

4 under this section at a rate to be determined by the 

5 Under Secretary at rates not in excess of the Execu6 tive Schedule (EX–II) without regard to the civil 

7 service laws; and 

8 (3) pay any employee appointed under this sec9 tion payments in addition to basic pay, except that 

10 the total amount of additional payments paid to an 

11 employee under this subsection for any 12-month pe12 riod shall not exceed the lesser of the following 

13 amounts: 

14 (A) $25,000. 

15 (B) The amount equal to 25 percent of the 

16 annual rate of basic pay of that employee. 

17 (C) The amount of the limitation that is 

18 applicable for a calendar year under section 

19 5307(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code. 

20 (b) TERM.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The term of any employee 

22 appointed under this section shall not exceed 3 years 

23 unless otherwise authorized in law. 

24 (2) TERMINATION.—The Under Secretary for 

25 Science shall have the authority to terminate any 


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1 employee appointed under this section at any time 

2 based on performance or changing project or re3 search needs of the Department. 

4 SEC. 307. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER REPORTS AND EVALUA5 TION. 

6 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.—As part of the updated tech7 nology transfer execution plan required each year under 

8 section 1001(h)(2) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

9 U.S.C. 16391(g)(2)), the Secretary shall submit to the 

10 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

11 House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 

12 and Natural Resources of the Senate a report on the 

13 progress and implementation of programs established 

14 under sections 103, 203, 204, 205, 207, 301, 302, 303, 

15 and 304 of this Act and section 1001(e) of the Energy 

16 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16391(e)). 

17 (b) EVALUATION.—Not later than 3 years after the 

18 enactment of this Act and every 3 years thereafter the 

19 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Science, 

20 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives 

21 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 

22 the Senate an evaluation on the extent to which programs 

23 established under sections 102, 103, 104, and 202 of this 

24 Act and section 1001(e) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 


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1 (42 U.S.C. 16391(e)) are achieving success based on rel2 evant short-term and long-term metrics. 

3 (c) REPORT ON TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER GAPS.— 

4 Not later than 3 years after the enactment of this Act, 

5 the Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the Na6 tional Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine 

7 to submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech8 nology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

9 on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report 

10 on programmatic gaps that exist to advance the commer11 cial application of technologies developed at the National 

12 Laboratories. 

Æ 


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