I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2170 

To support research, development, and other activities to develop innovative 

vehicle technologies, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 9, 2019 

Mrs. DINGELL (for herself and Ms. STEVENS) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 

and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To support research, development, and other activities to 

develop innovative vehicle technologies, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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

2 means the Department of Energy. 

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

4 the Secretary of Energy. 

5 SEC. 3. OBJECTIVES. 

6 The objectives of this Act are— 

7 (1) to establish a consistent and consolidated 

8 authority for the vehicle technology program at the 

9 Department; 

10 (2) to develop United States technologies and 

11 practices that— 

12 (A) improve the fuel efficiency and emis13 sions of all vehicles produced in the United 

14 States; and 

15 (B) reduce vehicle reliance on petroleum16 based fuels; 

17 (3) to support domestic research, development, 

18 engineering, demonstration, and commercial applica19 tion and manufacturing of advanced vehicles, en20 gines, and components; 

21 (4) to enable vehicles to move larger volumes of 

22 goods and more passengers with less energy and 

23 emissions; 

24 (5) to develop cost-effective advanced tech25 nologies for wide-scale utilization throughout the 


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1 passenger, commercial, government, and transit ve2 hicle sectors; 

3 (6) to allow for greater consumer choice of vehi4 cle technologies and fuels; 

5 (7) shorten technology development and inte6 gration cycles in the vehicle industry; 

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

8 Federal investment in vehicle technologies; and 

9 (9) to strengthen partnerships between Federal 

10 and State governmental agencies and the private 

11 and academic sectors. 

12 SEC. 4. COORDINATION AND NONDUPLICATION. 

13 The Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum extent 

14 practicable, that the activities authorized by this Act do 

15 not duplicate those of other programs within the Depart16 ment or other relevant research agencies. 

17 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec19 retary for research, development, engineering, demonstra20 tion, and commercial application of vehicles and related 

21 technologies in the United States, including activities au22 thorized under this Act— 

23 (1) for fiscal year 2020, $313,567,000; 

24 (2) for fiscal year 2021, $326,109,000; 

25 (3) for fiscal year 2022, $339,154,000; 


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1 (4) for fiscal year 2023, $352,720,000; and 

2 (5) for fiscal year 2024, $366,829,000. 

3 SEC. 6. REPORTING. 

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

5 months after the date of enactment of this Act and annu6 ally thereafter through 2024, the Secretary shall submit 

7 to Congress a report regarding the technologies developed 

8 as a result of the activities authorized by this Act, with 

9 a particular emphasis on whether the technologies were 

10 successfully adopted for commercial applications, and if 

11 so, whether products relying on those technologies are 

12 manufactured in the United States. 

13 (b) ADDITIONAL MATTERS.—At the end of each fis14 cal year through 2024, the Secretary shall submit to the 

15 relevant Congressional committees of jurisdiction an an16 nual report describing activities undertaken in the pre17 vious year under this Act, active industry participants, the 

18 status of public-private partnerships, progress of the pro19 gram in meeting goals and timelines, and a strategic plan 

20 for funding of activities across agencies. 

21 SEC. 7. VEHICLE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

22 (a) PROGRAM.— 

23 (1) ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

24 program of basic and applied research, development, 

25 engineering, demonstration, and commercial applicaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2170.IH H2170

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1 tion activities on materials, technologies, and proc2 esses with the potential to substantially reduce or 

3 eliminate petroleum use and the emissions of the 

4 passenger and commercial vehicles of the United 

5 States, including activities in the areas of— 

6 (A) electrification of vehicle systems; 

7 (B) batteries, ultracapacitors, and other 

8 energy storage devices; 

9 (C) power electronics; 

10 (D) vehicle, component, and subsystem 

11 manufacturing technologies and processes; 

12 (E) engine efficiency and combustion opti13 mization; 

14 (F) waste heat recovery; 

15 (G) transmission and drivetrains; 

16 (H) hydrogen vehicle technologies, includ17 ing fuel cells and internal combustion engines, 

18 and hydrogen infrastructure, including hydro19 gen energy storage to enable renewables and 

20 provide hydrogen for fuel and power; 

21 (I) natural gas vehicle technologies; 

22 (J) aerodynamics, rolling resistance (in23 cluding tires and wheel assemblies), and acces24 sory power loads of vehicles and associated 

25 equipment; 


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1 (K) vehicle weight reduction, including 

2 lightweighting materials and the development of 

3 manufacturing processes to fabricate, assemble, 

4 and use dissimilar materials; 

5 (L) friction and wear reduction; 

6 (M) engine and component durability; 

7 (N) innovative propulsion systems; 

8 (O) advanced boosting systems; 

9 (P) hydraulic hybrid technologies; 

10 (Q) engine compatibility with and optimi11 zation for a variety of transportation fuels in12 cluding natural gas and other liquid and gas13 eous fuels; 

14 (R) predictive engineering, modeling, and 

15 simulation of vehicle and transportation sys16 tems; 

17 (S) refueling and charging infrastructure 

18 for alternative fueled and electric or plug-in 

19 electric hybrid vehicles, including the unique 

20 challenges facing rural areas; 

21 (T) gaseous fuels storage systems and sys22 tem integration and optimization; 

23 (U) sensing, communications, and actu24 ation technologies for vehicle, electrical grid, 

25 and infrastructure; 


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1 (V) efficient use, substitution, and recy2 cling of potentially critical materials in vehicles, 

3 including rare earth elements and precious met4 als, at risk of supply disruption; 

5 (W) aftertreatment technologies; 

6 (X) thermal management of battery sys7 tems; 

8 (Y) retrofitting advanced vehicle tech9 nologies to existing vehicles; 

10 (Z) development of common standards, 

11 specifications, and architectures for both trans12 portation and stationary battery applications; 

13 (AA) advanced internal combustion en14 gines; 

15 (BB) mild hybrid; 

16 (CC) engine down speeding; 

17 (DD) vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-pedes18 trian, and vehicle-to-infrastructure technologies; 

19 and 

20 (EE) other research areas as determined 

21 by the Secretary. 

22 (2) TRANSFORMATIONAL TECHNOLOGY.—The 

23 Secretary shall ensure that the Department con24 tinues to support research, development, engineer25 ing, demonstration, and commercial application acVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2170.IH H2170

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1 tivities and maintains competency in mid- to long2 term transformational vehicle technologies with po3 tential to achieve reductions in emissions, including 

4 activities in the areas of— 

5 (A) hydrogen vehicle technologies, includ6 ing fuel cells, hydrogen storage, infrastructure, 

7 and activities in hydrogen technology validation 

8 and safety codes and standards; 

9 (B) multiple battery chemistries and novel 

10 energy storage devices, including nonchemical 

11 batteries and electromechanical storage tech12 nologies such as hydraulics, flywheels, and com13 pressed air storage; 

14 (C) communication and connectivity among 

15 vehicles, infrastructure, and the electrical grid; 

16 and 

17 (D) other innovative technologies research 

18 and development, as determined by the Sec19 retary. 

20 (3) INDUSTRY PARTICIPATION.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum ex22 tent practicable, activities under this Act shall 

23 be carried out in partnership or collaboration 

24 with automotive manufacturers, heavy commer25 cial, vocational, and transit vehicle manufacturVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2170.IH H2170

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1 ers, qualified plug-in electric vehicle manufac2 turers, compressed natural gas vehicle manufac3 turers, vehicle and engine equipment and com4 ponent manufacturers, manufacturing equip5 ment manufacturers, advanced vehicle service 

6 providers, fuel producers and energy suppliers, 

7 electric utilities, universities, national labora8 tories, and independent research laboratories. 

9 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out this 

10 Act, the Secretary shall— 

11 (i) determine whether a wide range of 

12 companies that manufacture or assemble 

13 vehicles or components in the United 

14 States are represented in ongoing public15 private partnership activities, including 

16 firms that have not traditionally partici17 pated in federally sponsored research and 

18 development activities, and where possible, 

19 partner with such firms that conduct sig20 nificant and relevant research and develop21 ment activities in the United States; 

22 (ii) leverage the capabilities and re23 sources of, and formalize partnerships 

24 with, industry-led stakeholder organiza25 tions, nonprofit organizations, industry 


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1 consortia, and trade associations with ex2 pertise in the research and development of, 

3 and education and outreach activities in, 

4 advanced automotive and commercial vehi5 cle technologies; 

6 (iii) develop more effective processes 

7 for transferring research findings and tech8 nologies to industry; 

9 (iv) support public-private partner10 ships, dedicated to overcoming barriers in 

11 commercial application of transformational 

12 vehicle technologies, that use such indus13 try-led technology development facilities of 

14 entities with demonstrated expertise in 

15 successfully designing and engineering pre16 commercial generations of such trans17 formational technology; and 

18 (v) promote efforts to ensure that 

19 technology research, development, engi20 neering, and commercial application activi21 ties funded under this Act are carried out 

22 in the United States. 

23 (4) INTERAGENCY AND INTRAAGENCY COORDI24 NATION.—To the maximum extent practicable, the 

25 Secretary shall coordinate research, development, 


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1 demonstration, and commercial application activities 

2 among— 

3 (A) relevant programs within the Depart4 ment, including— 

5 (i) the Office of Energy Efficiency 

6 and Renewable Energy; 

7 (ii) the Office of Science; 

8 (iii) the Office of Electricity Delivery 

9 and Energy Reliability; 

10 (iv) the Office of Fossil Energy; 

11 (v) the Advanced Research Projects 

12 Agency—Energy; and 

13 (vi) other offices as determined by the 

14 Secretary; and 

15 (B) relevant technology research and devel16 opment programs within other Federal agen17 cies, as determined by the Secretary. 

18 (5) FEDERAL DEMONSTRATION OF TECH19 NOLOGIES.—The Secretary shall make information 

20 available to procurement programs of Federal agen21 cies regarding the potential to demonstrate tech22 nologies resulting from activities funded through 

23 programs under this Act. 

24 (6) INTERGOVERNMENTAL COORDINATION.— 

25 The Secretary shall seek opportunities to leverage 


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1 resources and support initiatives of State and local 

2 governments in developing and promoting advanced 

3 vehicle technologies, manufacturing, and infrastruc4 ture. 

5 (7) CRITERIA.—In awarding grants under the 

6 program under this subsection, the Secretary shall 

7 give priority to those technologies (either individually 

8 or as part of a system) that— 

9 (A) provide the greatest aggregate fuel 

10 savings based on the reasonable projected sales 

11 volumes of the technology; and 

12 (B) provide the greatest increase in United 

13 States employment. 

14 (8) SECONDARY USE APPLICATIONS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

16 carry out a research, development, and dem17 onstration program that— 

18 (i) builds on any work carried out 

19 under section 915 of the Energy Policy Act 

20 of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16195); 

21 (ii) identifies possible uses of a vehicle 

22 battery after the useful life of the battery 

23 in a vehicle has been exhausted; 

24 (iii) conducts long-term testing to 

25 verify performance and degradation preVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2170.IH H2170

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1 dictions and lifetime valuations for sec2 ondary uses; 

3 (iv) evaluates innovative approaches to 

4 recycling materials from plug-in electric 

5 drive vehicles and the batteries used in 

6 plug-in electric drive vehicles; 

7 (v)(I) assesses the potential for mar8 kets for uses described in clause (ii) to de9 velop; and 

10 (II) identifies any barriers to the de11 velopment of those markets; and 

12 (vi) identifies the potential uses of a 

13 vehicle battery— 

14 (I) with the most promise for 

15 market development; and 

16 (II) for which market develop17 ment would be aided by a demonstra18 tion project. 

19 (B) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

20 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

21 shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

22 Congress an initial report on the findings of the 

23 program described in subparagraph (A), includ24 ing recommendations for stationary energy storVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2170.IH H2170

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1 age and other potential applications for bat2 teries used in plug-in electric drive vehicles. 

3 (C) SECONDARY USE DEMONSTRATION.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—Based on the re5 sults of the program described in subpara6 graph (A), the Secretary shall develop 

7 guidelines for projects that demonstrate 

8 the secondary uses and innovative recycling 

9 of vehicle batteries. 

10 (ii) PUBLICATION OF GUIDELINES.— 

11 Not later than 18 months after the date of 

12 enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

13 shall— 

14 (I) publish the guidelines de15 scribed in clause (i); and 

16 (II) solicit applications for fund17 ing for demonstration projects. 

18 (iii) PILOT DEMONSTRATION PRO19 GRAM.—Not later than 21 months after 

20 the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec21 retary shall select proposals for grant 

22 funding under this subsection, based on an 

23 assessment of which proposals are mostly 

24 likely to contribute to the development of 

25 a secondary market for batteries. 


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1 (b) MANUFACTURING.—The Secretary shall carry out 

2 a research, development, engineering, demonstration, and 

3 commercial application program of advanced vehicle man4 ufacturing technologies and practices, including innovative 

5 processes— 

6 (1) to increase the production rate and decrease 

7 the cost of advanced battery and fuel cell manufac8 turing; 

9 (2) to vary the capability of individual manufac10 turing facilities to accommodate different battery 

11 chemistries and configurations; 

12 (3) to reduce waste streams, emissions, and en13 ergy intensity of vehicle, engine, advanced battery, 

14 and component manufacturing processes; 

15 (4) to recycle and remanufacture used batteries 

16 and other vehicle components for reuse in vehicles or 

17 stationary applications; 

18 (5) to develop manufacturing processes to effec19 tively fabricate, assemble, and produce cost-effective 

20 lightweight materials such as advanced aluminum 

21 and other metal alloys, polymeric composites, and 

22 carbon fiber for use in vehicles; 

23 (6) to produce lightweight high pressure storage 

24 systems for gaseous fuels; 


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1 (7) to design and manufacture purpose-built hy2 drogen fuel cell vehicles and components; 

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

4 advanced batteries; and 

5 (9) to produce permanent magnets for advanced 

6 vehicles. 

7 SEC. 8. MEDIUM- AND HEAVY-DUTY COMMERCIAL AND 

8 TRANSIT VEHICLES PROGRAM. 

9 The Secretary, in partnership with relevant research 

10 and development programs in other Federal agencies, and 

11 a range of appropriate industry stakeholders, shall carry 

12 out a program of cooperative research, development, dem13 onstration, and commercial application activities on ad14 vanced technologies for medium- to heavy-duty commer15 cial, vocational, recreational, and transit vehicles, includ16 ing activities in the areas of— 

17 (1) engine efficiency and combustion research; 

18 (2) onboard storage technologies for compressed 

19 and liquefied natural gas; 

20 (3) development and integration of engine tech21 nologies designed for natural gas operation of a vari22 ety of vehicle platforms; 

23 (4) waste heat recovery and conversion; 

24 (5) improved aerodynamics and tire rolling re25 sistance; 


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1 (6) energy and space-efficient emissions control 

2 systems; 

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

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

5 storage technologies; 

6 (8) drivetrain optimization; 

7 (9) friction and wear reduction; 

8 (10) engine idle and parasitic energy loss reduc9 tion; 

10 (11) electrification of accessory loads; 

11 (12) onboard sensing and communications tech12 nologies; 

13 (13) advanced lightweighting materials and ve14 hicle designs; 

15 (14) increasing load capacity per vehicle; 

16 (15) thermal management of battery systems; 

17 (16) recharging infrastructure; 

18 (17) compressed natural gas infrastructure; 

19 (18) advanced internal combustion engines; 

20 (19) complete vehicle and power pack modeling, 

21 simulation, and testing; 

22 (20) hydrogen vehicle technologies, including 

23 fuel cells and internal combustion engines, and hy24 drogen infrastructure, including hydrogen energy 


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1 storage to enable renewables and provide hydrogen 

2 for fuel and power; 

3 (21) retrofitting advanced technologies onto ex4 isting truck fleets; 

5 (22) advanced boosting systems; 

6 (23) engine down speeding; and 

7 (24) integration of these and other advanced 

8 systems onto a single truck and trailer platform. 

9 SEC. 9. CLASS 8 TRUCK AND TRAILER SYSTEMS DEM10 ONSTRATION. 

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

12 competitive grant program to demonstrate the integration 

13 of multiple advanced technologies on Class 8 truck and 

14 trailer platforms, including a combination of technologies 

15 listed in section 8. 

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

17 comprised of truck and trailer manufacturers, engine and 

18 component manufacturers, fleet customers, university re19 searchers, and other applicants as appropriate for the de20 velopment and demonstration of integrated Class 8 truck 

21 and trailer systems. 

22 SEC. 10. TECHNOLOGY TESTING AND METRICS. 

23 The Secretary, in coordination with the partners of 

24 the interagency research program described in section 8— 


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1 (1) shall develop standard testing procedures 

2 and technologies for evaluating the performance of 

3 advanced heavy vehicle technologies under a range of 

4 representative duty cycles and operating conditions, 

5 including for heavy hybrid propulsion systems; 

6 (2) shall evaluate heavy vehicle performance 

7 using work performance-based metrics other than 

8 those based on miles per gallon, including those 

9 based on units of volume and weight transported for 

10 freight applications, and appropriate metrics based 

11 on the work performed by nonroad systems; and 

12 (3) may construct heavy duty truck and bus 

13 testing facilities. 

14 SEC. 11. NONROAD SYSTEMS PILOT PROGRAM. 

15 The Secretary shall undertake a pilot program of re16 search, development, demonstration, and commercial ap17 plications of technologies to improve total machine or sys18 tem efficiency for nonroad mobile equipment including ag19 ricultural, construction, air, and sea port equipment, and 

20 shall seek opportunities to transfer relevant research find21 ings and technologies between the nonroad and on-high22 way equipment and vehicle sectors. 


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1 SEC. 12. REPEAL OF EXISTING AUTHORITIES. 

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

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

4 16061, 16062, 16233) are repealed. 

5 (b) ENERGY EFFICIENCY.—Section 911 of the En6 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16191) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘vehi9 cles, buildings,’’ and inserting ‘‘buildings’’; and 

10 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

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

12 (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

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

14 through (D), respectively; and 

15 (2) in subsection (c)— 

16 (A) by striking paragraph (3); 

17 (B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

18 paragraph (3); and 

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

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

21 ‘‘(a)(2)(C)’’. 

Æ 


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