I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4996 

To establish a Critical Materials Processing Technology Testbed Capability, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 27, 2023 

Mr. FOSTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

A BILL 

To establish a Critical Materials Processing Technology 

Testbed Capability, 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 ‘‘Critical Materials 

5 Processing Technology Testbed Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CRITICAL MATERIALS PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY 

7 TESTBED. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta10 tion with other appropriate Federal agencies, shall 


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1 administer a competitive, merit reviewed process to 

2 establish a Critical Materials Processing Technology 

3 Testbed Capability (referred to in this section as the 

4 ‘‘Testbed’’) that allows for— 

5 (A) research, development, and demonstra6 tion of novel critical materials processing tech7 nologies; and 

8 (B) scalable performance testing to be con9 ducted on feedstock materials. 

10 (2) SELECTION.—In administering the process 

11 referred to in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall con12 sider applications from National Laboratories, insti13 tutions of higher education, private companies, 

14 multi-institutional collaborations, and other entities 

15 the Secretary determines appropriate. The Secretary 

16 may implement the Testbed as a single site or more 

17 than one site as necessary to carry out the mission 

18 of the Testbed as described in subsections (a) and 

19 (b). 

20 (b) FOCUS AREAS.—The Testbed shall include a 

21 focus on substantive and innovative improvements to crit22 ical materials processing technologies, including relating 

23 to the following: 

24 (1) Reduced energy intensity. 

25 (2) Reduced pollutants. 


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1 (3) Reduced water consumption. 

2 (4) Lower environmental and societal impacts. 

3 (5) Lower lifecycle costs. 

4 (6) Improved recovery efficiencies. 

5 (7) Process improvement beyond traditional 

6 thermal or pyro chemical techniques. 

7 (8) Reduced volumes and toxicity of waste. 

8 (9) Noise reduction. 

9 (10) Worker safety. 

10 (11) Processing techniques and technologies 

11 which have applicability to a wide range of material 

12 sources. 

13 (c) DURATION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Testbed shall receive 

15 support for a period of not more than five years, 

16 subject to the availability of appropriations. 

17 (2) RENEWAL.—Upon the expiration of any pe18 riod of support of the Testbed, the Secretary may 

19 renew support for the Testbed, on a merit-reviewed 

20 process, for a period of not more than five years. 

21 (d) TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.—The Secretary, in co22 ordination with the Director of the Office of Technology 

23 Transitions of the Department, shall facilitate the trans24 lation and secure transfer to industry of research results 

25 produced at the Testbed. 


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1 (e) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.—The Secretary shall 

2 ensure the intellectual property and value proposition gen3 erated by research, development, and demonstration ac4 tivities at the Testbed are retained within the United 

5 States. 

6 (f) INTERAGENCY ENGAGEMENT.—In carrying out 

7 this section, the Secretary shall— 

8 (1) consult with the Administrator of the Envi9 ronmental Protection Agency to ensure the goals 

10 and objectives of the Testbed align with applicable 

11 laws and regulations and environmental justice pri12 orities; and 

13 (2) ensure appropriate cooperation with, and 

14 avoid unnecessary duplication of, the activities of the 

15 Testbed with the activities of— 

16 (A) other research entities of the Depart17 ment; 

18 (B) the National Laboratories; 

19 (C) other Federal agencies; 

20 (D) institutions of higher education; 

21 (E) United States industry; 

22 (F) nongovernmental organizations; and 

23 (G) other relevant individuals or entities. 

24 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

2 appropriated to the Secretary— 

3 (A) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 to 

4 establish the Testbed; and 

5 (B) $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

6 2025 through 2028 to carry out the activities of 

7 the Testbed. 

8 (2) COST SHARE.—The Secretary may require 

9 that funds made available pursuant to the authoriza10 tion under paragraph (1)(B) be cost-shared by enti11 ties other than a National Laboratory seeking to 

12 conduct research, development, or demonstration ac13 tivities at the Testbed. 

14 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 (1) CRITICAL MATERIAL.—The term ‘‘critical 

16 material’’ means any of the following: 

17 (A) A critical material, as such term is de18 fined in section 7002(a)(2) of the Energy Act 

19 of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(a)(2); enacted as divi20 sion Z of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

21 2021 (Public Law 116–260)). 

22 (B) A strategic mineral as determined by 

23 the Secretary of Defense pursuant to Presi24 dential Determination 2022–11. 


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

2 means the Department of Energy. 

3 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

5 meaning given such term in section 101(a) of the 

6 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

7 (4) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na8 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given such term 

9 in section 3 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

10 U.S.C. 15801(3)). 

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

12 the Secretary of Energy. 

Æ 


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