II 

Calendar No. 150 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 734 

[Report No. 112–70] 

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

commercial application in vehicle technologies at the Department of Energy. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 6 (legislative day, APRIL 5), 2011 

Ms. STABENOW (for herself, Mr. LEVIN, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2011 

Reported by Mr. BINGAMAN, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

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

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advanced Vehicle 

5 Technology Act of 2011’’. 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 734 RS

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

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

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

7 and 24 percent of global oil demand. 

8 (2) The United States transportation sector is 

9 over 95 percent dependent on petroleum, and over 

10 60 percent of petroleum demand is met by imported 

11 supplies. 

12 (3) United States heavy truck fuel consumption 

13 will increase 23 percent by 2030, while overall trans14 portation energy use will decline by 1 percent. 

15 (4) The domestic automotive and commercial 

16 vehicle manufacturing sectors have increasingly lim17 ited resources for research, development, and engi18 neering of advanced technologies. 

19 (5) Vehicle, engine, and component manufactur20 ers are playing a more important role in vehicle 

21 technology development, and should be better inte22 grated into Federal research efforts. 

23 (6) Priorities for the Department of Energy’s 

24 vehicle technologies research have shifted drastically 

25 in recent years among diesel hybrids, hydrogen fuel 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 734 RS

1 cell vehicles, and plug-in electric hybrids, with little 

2 continuity among them. 

3 (7) The integration of vehicle, communication, 

4 and infrastructure technologies has great potential 

5 for efficiency gains through better management of 

6 the total transportation system. 

7 (8) The Federal Government should balance its 

8 role in researching longer-term exploratory concepts 

9 and developing nearer-term transformational tech10 nologies for vehicles. 

11 SEC. 3. OBJECTIVES. 

12 The objectives of this Act are to— 

13 (1) develop United States technologies and 

14 practices that— 

15 (A) improve the fuel efficiency and emis16 sions of all vehicles produced in the United 

17 States; and 

18 (B) reduce vehicle reliance on petroleum19 based fuels; 

20 (2) support domestic research, development, en21 gineering, demonstration, and commercial applica22 tion and manufacturing of advanced vehicles, en23 gines, and components; 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 734 RS

1 (3) enable vehicles to move larger volumes of 

2 goods and more passengers with less energy and 

3 emissions; 

4 (4) develop cost-effective advanced technologies 

5 for wide-scale utilization throughout the passenger, 

6 commercial, government, and transit vehicle sectors; 

7 (5) allow for greater consumer choice of vehicle 

8 technologies and fuels; 

9 (6) shorten technology development and inte10 gration cycles in the vehicle industry; 

11 (7) ensure a proper balance and diversity of 

12 Federal investment in vehicle technologies; and 

13 (8) strengthen partnerships between Federal 

14 and State governmental agencies and the private 

15 and academic sectors. 

16 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

17 For the purposes of this Act: 

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

19 means the Department of Energy. 

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

21 the Secretary of Energy. 

22 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec24 retary for United States research, development, engineer25 ing, demonstration, and commercial application of vehicles 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 734 RS

1 and related technologies, including activities authorized 

2 under this Act, such sums as may be necessary for each 

3 of fiscal years 2012 through 2016. 

4 TITLE I—VEHICLE RESEARCH 

5 AND DEVELOPMENT 

6 SEC. 101. PROGRAM. 

7 (a) ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary shall conduct a pro8 gram of basic and applied research, development, engi9 neering, demonstration, and commercial application activi10 ties on materials, technologies, and processes with the po11 tential to substantially reduce or eliminate petroleum use 

12 and the emissions of the Nation’s passenger and commer13 cial vehicles, including activities in the areas of— 

14 (1) hybridization or full electrification of vehicle 

15 systems; 

16 (2) batteries and other energy storage devices; 

17 (3) power electronics; 

18 (4) vehicle, component, and subsystem manu19 facturing technologies and processes; 

20 (5) engine efficiency and combustion optimiza21 tion; 

22 (6) waste heat recovery; 

23 (7) transmission and drivetrains; 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 734 RS

1 (8) hydrogen vehicle technologies, including fuel 

2 cells and internal combustion engines, and hydrogen 

3 infrastructure; 

4 (9) compressed natural gas vehicle technologies; 

5 (10) aerodynamics, rolling resistance, and ac6 cessory power loads of vehicles and associated equip7 ment; 

8 (11) vehicle weight reduction, including 

9 lightweighting materials; 

10 (12) friction and wear reduction; 

11 (13) engine and component durability; 

12 (14) innovative propulsion systems; 

13 (15) advanced boosting systems; 

14 (16) hydraulic hybrid technologies; 

15 (17) engine compatibility with and optimization 

16 for a variety of transportation fuels including nat17 ural gas and other liquid and gaseous fuels; 

18 (18) predictive engineering, modeling, and sim19 ulation of vehicle and transportation systems; 

20 (19) refueling and charging infrastructure for 

21 alternative fueled and electric or plug-in electric hy22 brid vehicles, including the unique challenges facing 

23 rural areas; 

24 (20) gaseous fuels storage systems and system 

25 integration and optimization; 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 734 RS

1 (21) sensing, communications, and actuation 

2 technologies for vehicle, electrical grid, and infra3 structure; 

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

5 potentially critical materials in vehicles, including 

6 rare earth elements and precious metals, at risk of 

7 supply disruption; 

8 (23) aftertreatment technologies; 

9 (24) thermal management of battery systems; 

10 (25) retrofitting advanced vehicle technologies 

11 to existing vehicles; 

12 (26) development of common standards, speci13 fications, and architectures for both transportation 

14 and stationary battery applications; 

15 (27) advanced internal combustion engines; and 

16 (28) other research areas as determined by the 

17 Secretary. 

18 (b) TRANSFORMATIONAL TECHNOLOGY.—The Sec19 retary shall ensure that the Department continues to sup20 port research, development, engineering, demonstration, 

21 and commercial application activities and maintains com22 petency in mid- to long-term transformational vehicle tech23 nologies with potential to achieve deep reductions in petro24 leum use and emissions, including activities in the areas 

25 of— 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 734 RS

1 (1) hydrogen vehicle technologies, including fuel 

2 cells, internal combustion engines, hydrogen storage, 

3 infrastructure, and activities in hydrogen technology 

4 validation and safety codes and standards; 

5 (2) multiple battery chemistries and novel en6 ergy storage devices, including nonchemical batteries 

7 and electromechanical storage technologies such as 

8 hydraulics, flywheels, and compressed air storage; 

9 (3) communication and connectivity among ve10 hicles, infrastructure, and the electrical grid; and 

11 (4) other innovative technologies research and 

12 development, as determined by the Secretary. 

13 (c) INDUSTRY PARTICIPATION.—To the maximum 

14 extent practicable, activities under this Act shall be carried 

15 out in partnership or collaboration with automotive manu16 facturers, heavy commercial, vocational, and transit vehi17 cle manufacturers, qualified plug-in electric vehicle manu18 facturers, compressed natural gas vehicle manufacturers, 

19 vehicle and engine equipment and component manufactur20 ers, manufacturing equipment manufacturers, advanced 

21 vehicle service providers, fuel producers and energy sup22 pliers, electric utilities, universities, national laboratories, 

23 and independent research laboratories. In carrying out 

24 this Act the Secretary shall— 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 734 RS

1 (1) determine whether a wide range of compa2 nies that manufacture or assemble vehicles or com3 ponents in the United States are represented in on4 going public private partnership activities, including 

5 firms that have not traditionally participated in fed6 erally sponsored research and development activities, 

7 and where possible, partner with such firms that 

8 conduct significant and relevant research and devel9 opment activities in the United States; 

10 (2) leverage the capabilities and resources of, 

11 and formalize partnerships with, industry-led stake12 holder organizations, nonprofit organizations, indus13 try consortia, and trade associations with expertise 

14 in the research and development of, and education 

15 and outreach activities in, advanced automotive and 

16 commercial vehicle technologies; 

17 (3) develop more efficient processes for trans18 ferring research findings and technologies to indus19 try; 

20 (4) give consideration to conversion of existing 

21 or former vehicle technology development or manu22 facturing facilities for the purposes of this Act; 

23 (5) establish and support public-private part24 nerships, dedicated to overcoming barriers in com25 mercial application of transformational vehicle techVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:57 Sep 06, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S734.RS S734

jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 734 RS

1 nologies, that utilize such industry-led technology de2 velopment facilities of entities with demonstrated ex3 pertise in successfully designing and engineering 

4 pre-commercial generations of such transformational 

5 technology; and 

6 (6) promote efforts to ensure that technology 

7 research, development, engineering, and commercial 

8 application activities funded under this Act are car9 ried out in the United States. 

10 (d) INTERAGENCY AND INTRAAGENCY COORDINA11 TION.—To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary 

12 shall coordinate research, development, demonstration, 

13 and commercial application activities among— 

14 (1) relevant programs within the Department, 

15 including— 

16 (A) the Office of Energy Efficiency and 

17 Renewable Energy; 

18 (B) the Office of Science; 

19 (C) the Office of Electricity Delivery and 

20 Energy Reliability; 

21 (D) the Office of Fossil Energy; 

22 (E) the Advanced Research Projects Agen23 cy—Energy; and 

24 (F) other offices as determined by the Sec25 retary; and 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 734 RS

1 (2) relevant technology research and develop2 ment programs within other Federal agencies, as de3 termined by the Secretary. 

4 (e) COORDINATION AND NONDUPLICATION.—In co5 ordinating activities the Secretary shall ensure, to the 

6 maximum extent practicable, that activities do not dupli7 cate those of other programs within the Department or 

8 other relevant research agencies. 

9 (f) FEDERAL DEMONSTRATION OF TECH10 NOLOGIES.—The Secretary shall make information avail11 able to procurement programs of Federal agencies regard12 ing the potential to demonstrate technologies resulting 

13 from activities funded through programs under this Act. 

14 (g) INTERGOVERNMENTAL COORDINATION.—The 

15 Secretary shall seek opportunities to leverage resources 

16 and support initiatives of State and local governments in 

17 developing and promoting advanced vehicle technologies, 

18 manufacturing, and infrastructure. 

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

20 program, the Secretary shall give priority to those tech21 nologies (either individually or as part of a system) that— 

22 (1) provide the greatest aggregate fuel savings 

23 based on the reasonable projected sales volumes of 

24 the technology; and 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 734 RS

1 (2) provide the greatest increase in United 

2 States employment. 

3 SEC. 102. SENSING AND COMMUNICATIONS TECH4 NOLOGIES. 

5 The Secretary, in coordination with the relevant re6 search programs of other Federal agencies, shall conduct 

7 research, development, engineering, and demonstration ac8 tivities on connectivity of vehicle and transportation sys9 tems, including on sensing, computation, communication, 

10 and actuation technologies that allow for reduced fuel use, 

11 optimized traffic flow, and vehicle electrification, including 

12 technologies for— 

13 (1) onboard vehicle, engine, and component 

14 sensing and actuation; 

15 (2) vehicle-to-vehicle sensing and communica16 tion; 

17 (3) vehicle-to-infrastructure sensing and com18 munication; and 

19 (4) vehicle integration with the electrical grid. 

20 SEC. 103. MANUFACTURING. 

21 The Secretary shall carry out a research, develop22 ment, engineering, demonstration, and commercial appli23 cation program of advanced vehicle manufacturing tech24 nologies and practices, including innovative processes to— 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 734 RS

1 (1) increase the production rate and decrease 

2 the cost of advanced battery manufacturing; 

3 (2) vary the capability of individual manufac4 turing facilities to accommodate different battery 

5 chemistries and configurations; 

6 (3) reduce waste streams, emissions, and en7 ergy-intensity of vehicle, engine, advanced battery 

8 and component manufacturing processes; 

9 (4) recycle and remanufacture used batteries 

10 and other vehicle components for reuse in vehicles or 

11 stationary applications; 

12 (5) produce cost-effective lightweight materials 

13 such as advanced metal alloys, polymeric composites, 

14 and carbon fiber; 

15 (6) produce lightweight high pressure storage 

16 systems for gaseous fuels; 

17 (7) design and manufacture purpose-built hy18 drogen and fuel cell vehicles and components; 

19 (8) improve the calendar life and cycle life of 

20 advanced batteries; and 

21 (9) produce permanent magnets for advanced 

22 vehicles. 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 734 RS

1 SEC. 104. USER TESTING FACILITIES. 

2 Activities under this Act may include construction, 

3 expansion, or modification of new and existing vehicle, en4 gine, and component research and testing facilities for— 

5 (1) testing or simulating interoperability of a 

6 variety of vehicle components and systems; 

7 (2) subjecting whole or partial vehicle platforms 

8 to fully representative duty cycles and operating con9 ditions; 

10 (3) developing and demonstrating a range of 

11 chemistries and configurations for advanced vehicle 

12 battery manufacturing; and 

13 (4) developing and demonstrating test cycles for 

14 new and alternative fuels, and other advanced vehi15 cle technologies. 

16 SEC. 105. REPORTING. 

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

18 months after the date of enactment of this Act and annu19 ally thereafter through 2017, the Secretary of Energy 

20 shall transmit to Congress a report regarding the tech21 nologies developed as a result of the activities authorized 

22 by this title, with a particular emphasis on whether the 

23 technologies were successfully adopted for commercial ap24 plications, and if so, whether products relying on those 

25 technologies are manufactured in the United States. 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 734 RS

1 (b) ADDITIONAL MATTERS.—At the end of each fis2 cal year through 2017 the Secretary shall submit to the 

3 relevant Congressional committees of jurisdiction an an4 nual report describing activities undertaken in the pre5 vious year under this title, active industry participants, ef6 forts to recruit new participants committed to design, en7 gineering, and manufacturing of advanced vehicle tech8 nologies in the United States, progress of the program in 

9 meeting goals and timelines, and a strategic plan for fund10 ing of activities across agencies. 

11 TITLE II—MEDIUM AND HEAVY 

12 DUTY COMMERCIAL AND 

13 TRANSIT VEHICLES 

14 SEC. 201. PROGRAM. 

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

16 with relevant research and development programs in other 

17 Federal agencies, and a range of appropriate industry 

18 stakeholders, shall carry out a program of cooperative re19 search, development, demonstration, and commercial ap20 plication activities on advanced technologies for medium21 to heavy-duty commercial, vocational, recreational, and 

22 transit vehicles, including activities in the areas of— 

23 (1) engine efficiency and combustion research; 

24 (2) onboard storage technologies for compressed 

25 and liquefied natural gas; 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 734 RS

1 (3) development and integration of engine tech2 nologies designed for natural gas operation of a vari3 ety of vehicle platforms; 

4 (4) waste heat recovery and conversion; 

5 (5) improved aerodynamics and tire rolling re6 sistance; 

7 (6) energy and space-efficient emissions control 

8 systems; 

9 (7) heavy hybrid, hybrid hydraulic, plug-in hy10 brid, and electric platforms, and energy storage 

11 technologies; 

12 (8) drivetrain optimization; 

13 (9) friction and wear reduction; 

14 (10) engine idle and parasitic energy loss reduc15 tion; 

16 (11) electrification of accessory loads; 

17 (12) onboard sensing and communications tech18 nologies; 

19 (13) advanced lightweighting materials and ve20 hicle designs; 

21 (14) increasing load capacity per vehicle; 

22 (15) thermal management of battery systems; 

23 (16) recharging infrastructure; 

24 (17) compressed natural gas infrastructure; 

25 (18) advanced internal combustion engines; 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 734 RS

1 (19) complete vehicle modeling and simulation; 

2 (20) hydrogen vehicle technologies, including 

3 fuel cells and internal combustion engines, and hy4 drogen infrastructure; 

5 (21) retrofitting advanced technologies onto ex6 isting truck fleets; and 

7 (22) integration of these and other advanced 

8 systems onto a single truck and trailer platform. 

9 (b) LEADERSHIP.—The Secretary shall appoint a 

10 full-time Director to coordinate research, development, 

11 demonstration, and commercial application activities in 

12 medium- to heavy-duty commercial, recreational, and tran13 sit vehicle technologies. Responsibilities of the Director 

14 shall be to— 

15 (1) improve coordination and develop consensus 

16 between government agency and industry partners, 

17 and propose new processes for program management 

18 and priority setting to better align activities and 

19 budgets among partners; 

20 (2) regularly convene workshops, site visits, 

21 demonstrations, conferences, investor forums, and 

22 other events in which information and research find23 ings are shared among program participants and in24 terested stakeholders; 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 734 RS

1 (3) develop a budget for the Department’s ac2 tivities with regard to the interagency program, and 

3 provide consultation and guidance on vehicle tech4 nology funding priorities across agencies; 

5 (4) determine a process for reviewing program 

6 technical goals, targets, and timetables and, where 

7 applicable, aided by life-cycle impact and cost anal8 ysis, propose revisions or elimination based on pro9 gram progress, available funding, and rate of tech10 nology adoption; 

11 (5) evaluate ongoing activities of the program 

12 and recommend project modifications, including the 

13 termination of projects, where applicable; 

14 (6) recruit new industry participants to the 

15 interagency program, including truck, trailer, and 

16 component manufacturers who have not traditionally 

17 participated in federally sponsored research and 

18 technology development activities; and 

19 (7) other responsibilities as determined by the 

20 Secretary, in consultation with interagency and in21 dustry partners. 

22 (c) REPORTING.—At the end of each fiscal year, the 

23 Secretary shall submit to the Congress an annual report 

24 describing activities undertaken in the previous year, ac25 tive industry participants, efforts to recruit new particiVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:57 Sep 06, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S734.RS S734

jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 734 RS

1 pants, progress of the program in meeting goals and 

2 timelines, and a strategic plan for funding of activities 

3 across agencies. 

4 SEC. 202. CLASS 8 TRUCK AND TRAILER SYSTEMS DEM5 ONSTRATION. 

6 The Secretary shall conduct a competitive grant pro7 gram to demonstrate the integration of multiple advanced 

8 technologies on Class 8 truck and trailer platforms with 

9 a goal of improving overall freight efficiency, as measured 

10 in tons and volume of freight hauled or other work per11 formance-based metrics, by 50 percent, including a com12 bination of technologies listed in section 201(a). Applicant 

13 teams may be comprised of truck and trailer manufactur14 ers, engine and component manufacturers, fleet cus15 tomers, university researchers, and other applicants as ap16 propriate for the development and demonstration of inte17 grated Class 8 truck and trailer systems. 

18 SEC. 203. TECHNOLOGY TESTING AND METRICS. 

19 The Secretary, in coordination with the partners of 

20 the interagency research program described in section 

21 201(a)— 

22 (1) shall develop standard testing procedures 

23 and technologies for evaluating the performance of 

24 advanced heavy vehicle technologies under a range of 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
20 

•S 734 RS

1 representative duty cycles and operating conditions, 

2 including for heavy hybrid propulsion systems; 

3 (2) shall evaluate heavy vehicle performance 

4 using work performance-based metrics other than 

5 those based on miles per gallon, including those 

6 based on units of volume and weight transported for 

7 freight applications, and appropriate metrics based 

8 on the work performed by nonroad systems; and 

9 (3) may construct heavy duty truck and bus 

10 testing facilities. 

11 SEC. 204. NONROAD SYSTEMS PILOT PROGRAM. 

12 The Secretary shall undertake a pilot program of re13 search, development, demonstration, and commercial ap14 plications of technologies to improve total machine or sys15 tem efficiency for nonroad mobile equipment including ag16 ricultural and construction equipment, and shall seek op17 portunities to transfer relevant research findings and tech18 nologies between the nonroad and on-highway equipment 

19 and vehicle sectors. 

20 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

21 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ad22 vanced Vehicle Technology Act of 2011’’. 

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

24 Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Objectives. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
21 

•S 734 RS

Sec. 4. Coordination and nonduplication. 

TITLE I—VEHICLE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 

Sec. 101. Program. 

Sec. 102. Sensing and communications technologies. 

Sec. 103. Manufacturing. 

Sec. 104. Reporting. 

TITLE II—MEDIUM AND HEAVY DUTY COMMERCIAL AND TRANSIT 

VEHICLES 

Sec. 201. Program. 

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

Sec. 203. Technology testing and metrics. 

Sec. 204. Nonroad systems pilot program. 

Sec. 205. Repeal of existing authorities. 

1 SEC. 2. OBJECTIVES. 

2 The objectives of this Act are— 

3 (1) to reform and reorient the vehicle tech4 nologies programs of the Department; 

5 (2) to establish a clear and consistent authority 

6 for vehicle technologies programs of the Department; 

7 (3) to develop United States technologies and 

8 practices that— 

9 (A) improve the fuel efficiency and emis10 sions of all vehicles produced in the United 

11 States; and 

12 (B) reduce vehicle reliance on petroleum13 based fuels; 

14 (4) to support domestic research, development, 

15 engineering, demonstration, and commercial applica16 tion and manufacturing of advanced vehicles, engines, 

17 and components; 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
22 

•S 734 RS

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

2 goods and more passengers with less energy and emis3 sions; 

4 (6) to develop cost-effective advanced technologies 

5 for wide-scale utilization throughout the passenger, 

6 commercial, government, and transit vehicle sectors; 

7 (7) to allow for greater consumer choice of vehi8 cle technologies and fuels; 

9 (8) to shorten technology development and inte10 gration cycles in the vehicle industry; 

11 (9) to ensure a proper balance and diversity of 

12 Federal investment in vehicle technologies and among 

13 vehicle classes; and 

14 (10) to strengthen partnerships between Federal 

15 and State governmental agencies and the private and 

16 academic sectors. 

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this Act: 

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

20 means the Department of Energy. 

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

22 the Secretary of Energy. 

23 SEC. 4. COORDINATION AND NONDUPLICATION. 

24 (a) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

25 activities authorized by this Act do not duplicate activities 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
23 

•S 734 RS

1 of other programs within the Department or other relevant 

2 agencies. 

3 (b) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.—The activities 

4 carried out under this Act shall be subject to the cost-shar5 ing requirements of section 988 of the Energy Policy Act 

6 of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352). 

7 TITLE I—VEHICLE RESEARCH 

8 AND DEVELOPMENT 

9 SEC. 101. PROGRAM. 

10 (a) ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary shall conduct a pro11 gram of basic and applied research, development, engineer12 ing, demonstration, and commercial application activities 

13 on materials, technologies, and processes with the potential 

14 to substantially reduce or eliminate petroleum use and the 

15 emissions of the Nation’s passenger and commercial vehi16 cles, including activities in the areas of— 

17 (1) hybridization or full electrification of vehicle 

18 systems; 

19 (2) batteries, ultracapacitors, and other energy 

20 storage devices; 

21 (3) power electronics; 

22 (4) vehicle, component, and subsystem manufac23 turing technologies and processes; 

24 (5) engine efficiency and combustion optimiza25 tion; 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
24 

•S 734 RS

1 (6) waste heat recovery; 

2 (7) transmission and drivetrains; 

3 (8) hydrogen vehicle technologies, including fuel 

4 cells and internal combustion engines, and hydrogen 

5 infrastructure; 

6 (9) compressed natural gas and liquefied petro7 leum gas vehicle technologies; 

8 (10) aerodynamics, rolling resistance, and acces9 sory power loads of vehicles and associated equip10 ment; 

11 (11) vehicle weight reduction, including 

12 lightweighting materials; 

13 (12) friction and wear reduction; 

14 (13) engine and component durability; 

15 (14) innovative propulsion systems; 

16 (15) advanced boosting systems; 

17 (16) hydraulic hybrid technologies; 

18 (17) engine compatibility with and optimization 

19 for a variety of transportation fuels including natural 

20 gas and other liquid and gaseous fuels; 

21 (18) predictive engineering, modeling, and sim22 ulation of vehicle and transportation systems; 

23 (19) refueling and charging infrastructure for al24 ternative fueled and electric or plug-in electric hybrid 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
25 

•S 734 RS

1 vehicles, including the unique challenges facing rural 

2 areas; 

3 (20) gaseous fuels storage systems and system in4 tegration and optimization; 

5 (21) sensing, communications, and actuation 

6 technologies for vehicle, electrical grid, and infrastruc7 ture; 

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

9 potentially critical materials in vehicles, including 

10 rare earth elements and precious metals, at risk of 

11 supply disruption; 

12 (23) aftertreatment technologies; 

13 (24) thermal management of battery systems; 

14 (25) retrofitting advanced vehicle technologies to 

15 existing vehicles; 

16 (26) development of common standards, speci17 fications, and architectures for both transportation 

18 and stationary battery applications; 

19 (27) advanced internal combustion engines; and 

20 (28) other research areas as determined by the 

21 Secretary. 

22 (b) TRANSFORMATIONAL TECHNOLOGY.—The Sec23 retary shall ensure that the Department continues to sup24 port research, development, engineering, demonstration, 

25 and commercial application activities and maintains comVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:57 Sep 06, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S734.RS S734

jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
26 

•S 734 RS

1 petency in mid- to long-term transformational vehicle tech2 nologies with potential to achieve deep reductions in petro3 leum use and emissions, including activities in the areas 

4 of— 

5 (1) hydrogen vehicle technologies, including fuel 

6 cells, internal combustion engines, hydrogen storage, 

7 infrastructure, and activities in hydrogen technology 

8 validation and safety codes and standards; 

9 (2) multiple battery chemistries and novel energy 

10 storage devices, including nonchemical batteries, 

11 ultracapacitors and electromechanical storage tech12 nologies such as hydraulics, flywheels, and compressed 

13 air storage; 

14 (3) communication, connectivity, and power flow 

15 among vehicles, infrastructure, and the electrical grid; 

16 and 

17 (4) other innovative technologies research and de18 velopment, as determined by the Secretary. 

19 (c) INDUSTRY PARTICIPATION.—To the maximum ex20 tent practicable, activities under this Act shall be carried 

21 out in partnership or collaboration with automotive manu22 facturers, heavy commercial, vocational, and transit vehicle 

23 manufacturers, qualified plug-in electric vehicle manufac24 turers, compressed natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas 

25 vehicle manufacturers, vehicle and engine equipment and 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
27 

•S 734 RS

1 component manufacturers, manufacturing equipment man2 ufacturers, advanced vehicle service providers, fuel pro3 ducers and energy suppliers, electric utilities, universities, 

4 national laboratories, and independent research labora5 tories. In carrying out this Act the Secretary shall— 

6 (1) determine whether a wide range of companies 

7 that manufacture or assemble vehicles or components 

8 in the United States are represented in ongoing pub9 lic private partnership activities, including firms that 

10 have not traditionally participated in federally spon11 sored research and development activities, and where 

12 possible, partner with such firms that conduct signifi13 cant and relevant research and development activities 

14 in the United States; 

15 (2) leverage the capabilities and resources of, and 

16 formalize partnerships with, industry-led stakeholder 

17 organizations, nonprofit organizations, industry con18 sortia, and trade associations with expertise in the re19 search and development of, and education and out20 reach activities in, advanced automotive and commer21 cial vehicle technologies; 

22 (3) develop more efficient processes for transfer23 ring research findings and technologies to industry; 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
28 

•S 734 RS

1 (4) give consideration to conversion of existing or 

2 former vehicle technology development or manufac3 turing facilities for the purposes of this Act; 

4 (5) establish and support public-private partner5 ships, dedicated to overcoming barriers in commercial 

6 application of transformational vehicle technologies, 

7 that utilize such industry-led technology development 

8 facilities of entities with demonstrated expertise in 

9 successfully designing and engineering pre-commer10 cial generations of such transformational technology; 

11 and 

12 (6) promote efforts to ensure that technology re13 search, development, engineering, and commercial ap14 plication activities funded under this Act are carried 

15 out in the United States. 

16 (d) INTERAGENCY AND INTRAAGENCY COORDINA17 TION.—To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary 

18 shall coordinate research, development, demonstration, and 

19 commercial application activities among— 

20 (1) relevant programs within the Department, 

21 including— 

22 (A) the Office of Energy Efficiency and Re23 newable Energy; 

24 (B) the Office of Science; 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
29 

•S 734 RS

1 (C) the Office of Electricity Delivery and 

2 Energy Reliability; 

3 (D) the Office of Fossil Energy; 

4 (E) the Advanced Research Projects Agen5 cy—Energy; and 

6 (F) other offices as determined by the Sec7 retary; and 

8 (2) relevant technology research and development 

9 programs within the Department of Transportation 

10 and other Federal agencies, as determined by the Sec11 retary. 

12 (e) FEDERAL DEMONSTRATION OF TECHNOLOGIES.— 

13 The Secretary shall make information available to procure14 ment programs of Federal agencies regarding the potential 

15 to demonstrate technologies resulting from activities funded 

16 through programs under this Act. 

17 (f) INTERGOVERNMENTAL COORDINATION.—The Sec18 retary shall seek opportunities to leverage resources and 

19 support initiatives of State and local governments in devel20 oping and promoting advanced vehicle technologies, manu21 facturing, and infrastructure. 

22 (g) CRITERIA.—When awarding cost-shared grants 

23 under this program, the Secretary shall give priority to 

24 those technologies (either individually or as part of a sys25 tem) that— 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
30 

•S 734 RS

1 (1) provide the greatest aggregate fuel savings 

2 based on the reasonable projected sales volumes of the 

3 technology; and 

4 (2) provide the greatest increase in United States 

5 employment. 

6 SEC. 102. SENSING AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordination 

8 with the Secretary of Transportation and the relevant re9 search programs of other Federal agencies, shall conduct re10 search, development, engineering, and demonstration activi11 ties on connectivity of vehicle and transportation systems, 

12 including on sensing, computation, communication, and 

13 actuation technologies that allow for reduced fuel use, opti14 mized traffic flow, and vehicle electrification, including 

15 technologies for— 

16 (1) onboard vehicle, engine, and component sens17 ing and actuation; 

18 (2) vehicle-to-vehicle sensing and communica19 tion; 

20 (3) vehicle-to-infrastructure sensing and commu21 nication; and 

22 (4) vehicle integration with the electrical grid, 

23 including communications to provide grid services. 

24 (b) COORDINATION.—The activities carried out under 

25 this section shall supplement (and not supplant) activities 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
31 

•S 734 RS

1 under the intelligent transportation system research pro2 gram of the Department of Transportation. 

3 SEC. 103. MANUFACTURING. 

4 The Secretary shall carry out a research, development, 

5 engineering, demonstration, and commercial application 

6 program of advanced vehicle manufacturing technologies 

7 and practices, including innovative processes to— 

8 (1) increase the production rate and decrease the 

9 cost of advanced battery manufacturing; 

10 (2) vary the capability of individual manufac11 turing facilities to accommodate different battery 

12 chemistries and configurations; 

13 (3) reduce waste streams, emissions, and energy14 intensity of vehicle, engine, advanced battery and 

15 component manufacturing processes; 

16 (4) recycle and remanufacture used batteries and 

17 other vehicle components for reuse in vehicles or sta18 tionary applications; 

19 (5) produce cost-effective lightweight materials 

20 such as advanced metal alloys, polymeric composites, 

21 and carbon fiber; 

22 (6) produce lightweight high pressure storage 

23 systems for gaseous fuels; 

24 (7) design and manufacture purpose-built hydro25 gen and fuel cell vehicles and components; 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
32 

•S 734 RS

1 (8) improve the calendar life and cycle life of ad2 vanced batteries; and 

3 (9) produce permanent magnets for advanced ve4 hicles. 

5 SEC. 104. REPORTING. 

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

7 months after the date of enactment of this Act and annually 

8 thereafter through 2017, the Secretary of Energy shall 

9 transmit to Congress a report regarding the technologies de10 veloped as a result of the activities authorized by this title, 

11 with a particular emphasis on whether the technologies were 

12 successfully adopted for commercial applications, and if so, 

13 whether products relying on those technologies are manufac14 tured in the United States. 

15 (b) ADDITIONAL MATTERS.—At the end of each fiscal 

16 year through 2017 the Secretary shall submit to the relevant 

17 Congressional committees of jurisdiction an annual report 

18 describing activities undertaken in the previous year under 

19 this title, active industry participants, efforts to recruit new 

20 participants committed to design, engineering, and manu21 facturing of advanced vehicle technologies in the United 

22 States, progress of the program in meeting goals and 

23 timelines, and a strategic plan for funding of activities 

24 across agencies. 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
33 

•S 734 RS

1 TITLE II—MEDIUM AND HEAVY 

2 DUTY COMMERCIAL AND 

3 TRANSIT VEHICLES 

4 SEC. 201. PROGRAM. 

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

6 relevant research and development programs in other Fed7 eral agencies, and a range of appropriate industry stake8 holders, shall carry out a program of cooperative research, 

9 development, demonstration, and commercial application 

10 activities on advanced technologies for medium- to heavy11 duty commercial, vocational, recreational, and transit vehi12 cles, including activities in the areas of— 

13 (1) engine efficiency and combustion research; 

14 (2) onboard storage technologies for compressed 

15 natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas; 

16 (3) development and integration of engine tech17 nologies designed for compressed natural gas and liq18 uefied petroleum gas operation of a variety of vehicle 

19 platforms; 

20 (4) waste heat recovery and conversion; 

21 (5) improved aerodynamics and tire rolling re22 sistance; 

23 (6) energy and space-efficient emissions control 

24 systems; 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
34 

•S 734 RS

1 (7) heavy hybrid, hybrid hydraulic, plug-in hy2 brid, and electric platforms, and energy storage tech3 nologies; 

4 (8) drivetrain optimization; 

5 (9) friction and wear reduction; 

6 (10) engine idle and parasitic energy loss reduc7 tion; 

8 (11) electrification of accessory loads; 

9 (12) onboard sensing and communications tech10 nologies; 

11 (13) advanced lightweighting materials and vehi12 cle designs; 

13 (14) increasing load capacity per vehicle; 

14 (15) thermal management of battery systems; 

15 (16) recharging infrastructure; 

16 (17) compressed natural gas and liquefied petro17 leum gas infrastructure; 

18 (18) advanced internal combustion engines; 

19 (19) complete vehicle modeling and simulation; 

20 (20) hydrogen vehicle technologies, including fuel 

21 cells and internal combustion engines, and hydrogen 

22 infrastructure; 

23 (21) retrofitting advanced technologies onto exist24 ing truck fleets; and 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
35 

•S 734 RS

1 (22) integration of these and other advanced sys2 tems onto a single truck and trailer platform. 

3 (b) LEADERSHIP.—The Secretary shall appoint a full4 time Director to coordinate research, development, dem5 onstration, and commercial application activities in 

6 medium- to heavy-duty commercial, recreational, and tran7 sit vehicle technologies. Responsibilities of the Director shall 

8 be to— 

9 (1) improve coordination and develop consensus 

10 between government agency and industry partners, 

11 and propose new processes for program management 

12 and priority setting to better align activities and 

13 budgets among partners; 

14 (2) regularly convene workshops, site visits, dem15 onstrations, conferences, investor forums, and other 

16 events in which information and research findings 

17 are shared among program participants and inter18 ested stakeholders; 

19 (3) develop a budget for the Department’s activi20 ties with regard to the interagency program, and pro21 vide consultation and guidance on vehicle technology 

22 funding priorities across agencies; 

23 (4) determine a process for reviewing program 

24 technical goals, targets, and timetables and, where ap25 plicable, aided by life-cycle impact and cost analysis, 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
36 

•S 734 RS

1 propose revisions or elimination based on program 

2 progress, available funding, and rate of technology 

3 adoption; 

4 (5) evaluate ongoing activities of the program 

5 and recommend project modifications, including the 

6 termination of projects, where applicable; 

7 (6) recruit new industry participants to the 

8 interagency program, including truck, trailer, and 

9 component manufacturers who have not traditionally 

10 participated in federally sponsored research and tech11 nology development activities; and 

12 (7) other responsibilities as determined by the 

13 Secretary, in consultation with interagency and in14 dustry partners. 

15 (c) REPORTING.—At the end of each fiscal year, the 

16 Secretary shall submit to the Congress an annual report 

17 describing activities undertaken in the previous year, active 

18 industry participants, efforts to recruit new participants, 

19 progress of the program in meeting goals and timelines, and 

20 a strategic plan for funding of activities across agencies. 

21 SEC. 202. CLASS 8 TRUCK AND TRAILER SYSTEMS DEM22 ONSTRATION. 

23 The Secretary shall conduct a competitive grant pro24 gram to demonstrate the integration of multiple advanced 

25 technologies on Class 8 truck and trailer platforms with a 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
37 

•S 734 RS

1 goal of improving overall freight efficiency, as measured in 

2 tons and volume of freight hauled or other work perform3 ance-based metrics, by 50 percent, including a combination 

4 of technologies listed in section 201(a). Applicant teams 

5 may be comprised of truck and trailer manufacturers, en6 gine and component manufacturers, fleet customers, univer7 sity researchers, and other applicants as appropriate for 

8 the development and demonstration of integrated Class 8 

9 truck and trailer systems. 

10 SEC. 203. TECHNOLOGY TESTING AND METRICS. 

11 The Secretary, in coordination with the partners of the 

12 interagency research program described in section 201(a)— 

13 (1) shall develop standard testing procedures and 

14 technologies for evaluating the performance of ad15 vanced heavy vehicle technologies under a range of 

16 representative duty cycles and operating conditions, 

17 including for heavy hybrid propulsion systems; 

18 (2) shall evaluate heavy vehicle performance 

19 using work performance-based metrics other than 

20 those based on miles per gallon, including those based 

21 on units of volume and weight transported for freight 

22 applications, and appropriate metrics based on the 

23 work performed by nonroad systems; and 

24 (3) may construct heavy duty truck and bus test25 ing facilities. 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
38 

•S 734 RS

1 SEC. 204. NONROAD SYSTEMS PILOT PROGRAM. 

2 The Secretary shall undertake a pilot program of re3 search, development, demonstration, and commercial appli4 cations of technologies to improve total machine or system 

5 efficiency for nonroad mobile equipment including agricul6 tural and construction equipment, and shall seek opportu7 nities to transfer relevant research findings and technologies 

8 between the nonroad and on-highway equipment and vehicle 

9 sectors. 

10 SEC. 205. REPEAL OF EXISTING AUTHORITIES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Sections 706, 711, 712, and 933 of 

12 the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16051, 16061, 

13 16062, 16233) are repealed. 

14 (b) ENERGY EFFICIENCY.—Section 911 of the Energy 

15 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16191) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘vehi18 cles, buildings,’’ and inserting ‘‘buildings’’; and 

19 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (i) by striking subparagraph (A); and 

21 (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

22 (B) through (E) as subparagraphs (A) 

23 through (D), respectively; and 

24 (2) in subsection (c)— 

25 (A) by striking paragraph (3); 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
39 

•S 734 RS

1 (B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

2 paragraph (3); and 

3 (C) in paragraph (3) (as so redesignated), 

4 by striking ‘‘(a)(2)(D)’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘(a)(2)(C)’’. 

6 (c) ENERGY STORAGE COMPETITIVENESS.—Section 

7 641 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 

8 (42 U.S.C. 17231) is amended— 

9 (1) by striking subsection (j); 

10 (2) by redesignating subsections (k) through (p) 

11 as subsections (j) through (o), respectively; and 

12 (3) in subsection (o) (as so redesignated)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and;’’ 

14 after the semicolon at the end; 

15 (B) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘and’’ 

16 after the semicolon at the end; 

17 (C) by striking paragraph (5); 

18 (D) by redesignating paragraph (6) as 

19 paragraph (5); and 

20 (E) in paragraph (5) (as so redesignated), 

21 by striking ‘‘subsection (k)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub22 section (j)’’. 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 150 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 734 

[Report No. 112–70] 

A BILL 

To provide for a program of research, development, 

hicle technologies at the Department of Energy. demonstration, and commercial application in veSEPTEMBER 6, 2011 

Reported with an amendment 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS