H. R. 4138

One Hundred Fourth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,

the third day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-six

An Act

To authorize the hydrogen research, development, and demonstration programs

of the Department of Energy, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hydrogen Future Act of 1996’’.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

For purposes of titles II and III—

(1) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Department of

Energy; and

(2) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Energy.

TITLE I—HYDROGEN

SEC. 101. PURPOSES AND DEFINITIONS.

(a) Section 102(b)(1) of Public Law 101–566 (42 U.S.C.

12401(b)(1)) is amended to read as follows:

‘‘(1) to direct the Secretary of Energy to conduct a research,

development, and demonstration program leading to the production,

storage, transport, and use of hydrogen for industrial, residential,

transportation, and utility applications;’’.

(b) Section 102(c) of Public Law 101–566 (42 U.S.C. 12401(c))

is amended—

(1) in subsection (1) by striking ‘‘; and’’ inserting ‘‘;’’;

(2) by redesignating subsection (2) as subsection (3); and

(3) by inserting before subsection (3) (as redesignated) the

following new subsection:

‘‘(2) ‘Department’ means the Department of Energy; and’’.

SEC. 102. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

(a) Section 103 of Public Law 101–566 (42 U.S.C. 12402) is

amended to read as follows:

‘‘§ 103. Report to Congress

‘‘(a) Not later than January 1, 1999, the Secretary shall

transmit to Congress a detailed report on the status and progress

of the programs authorized under this Act.

‘‘(b) A report under subsection (a) shall include, in addition

to any views and recommendations of the Secretary—

‘‘(1) an analysis of the effectiveness of the programs

authorized under this chapter, to be prepared and submitted
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to the Secretary by the Hydrogen Technical Advisory Panel

established under section 108 of this Act; and

‘‘(2) recommendations of the Hydrogen Technical Advisory

Panel for any improvements in the program that are needed,

including recommendations for additional legislation.’’.

(b) Section 108(d) of Public Law 101–566 (42 U.S.C. 12407(d))

is amended—

(1) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (1);

(2) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end of paragraph (2) and

inserting a period; and

(3) by striking paragraph (3).

SEC. 103. HYDROGEN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

(a) Section 104 of Public Law 101–566 (42 U.S.C. 12403) is

amended to read as follows:

‘‘§ 104. Hydrogen research and development

‘‘(a) The Secretary shall conduct a hydrogen research and

development program relating to production, storage, transportation, and use of hydrogen, with the goal of enabling the private

sector to demonstrate the technical feasibility of using hydrogen

for industrial, residential, transportation, and utility applications.

‘‘(b) In conducting the program authorized by this section, the

Secretary shall—

‘‘(1) give particular attention to developing an understanding and resolution of critical technical issues preventing the

introduction of hydrogen into the marketplace;

‘‘(2) initiate or accelerate existing research in critical

technical issues that will contribute to the development of

more economic hydrogen production and use, including, but

not limited to, critical technical issues with respect to production (giving priority to those production techniques that use

renewable energy resources as their primary source of energy

for hydrogen production), liquefaction, transmission, distribution, storage, and use (including use of hydrogen in surface

transportation); and

‘‘(3) survey private sector hydrogen activities and take steps

to ensure that research and development activities under this

section do not displace or compete with the privately funded

hydrogen research and development activities of United States

industry.

‘‘(c) The Secretary is authorized to evaluate any reasonable

new or improved technology, including basic research on highly

innovative energy technologies, that could lead or contribute to

the development of economic hydrogen production, storage, and

utilization.

‘‘(d) The Secretary is authorized to evaluate any reasonable

new or improved technology that could lead or contribute to, or

demonstrate the use of, advanced renewable energy systems or

hybrid systems for use in isolated communities that currently

import diesel fuel as the primary fuel for electric power production.

‘‘(e) The Secretary is authorized to arrange for tests and

demonstrations and to disseminate to researchers and developers

information, data, and other materials necessary to support the

research and development activities authorized under this section

and other efforts authorized under this chapter, consistent with

section 106 of this Act.
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‘‘(f) The Secretary shall carry out the research and development

activities authorized under this section only through the funding

of research and development proposals submitted by interested

persons according to such procedures as the Secretary may require

and evaluate on a competitive basis using peer review. Such funding

shall be in the form of a grant agreement, procurement contract,

or cooperative agreement (as those terms are used in chapter 63

of title 31, United States Code).

‘‘(g) The Secretary shall not consider a proposal submitted

by a person from industry unless the proposal contains a certification that reasonable efforts to obtain non-Federal funding for

the entire cost of the project have been made, and that such nonFederal funding could not be reasonably obtained. As appropriate,

the Secretary shall require a commitment from non-Federal sources

of at least 50 percent of the cost of the development portion of

such a proposal.

‘‘(h) The Secretary shall not carry out any activities under

this section that unnecessarily duplicate activities carried out elsewhere by the Federal Government or industry.

‘‘(i) The Secretary shall establish, after consultation with other

Federal agencies, terms and conditions under which Federal funding

will be provided under this chapter that are consistent with the

Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures referred to

in section 101(d)(12) of the Uruguay Round Agreement Act (19

U.S.C. 3511(d)(12)).’’.

(b)(1) Section 2026(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42

U.S.C. 13436(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘, in accordance with

sections 3001 and 3002 of this Act,’’.

(2) Effective October 1, 1998, section 2026 of the Energy Policy

Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13436) is repealed.

SEC. 104. DEMONSTRATIONS.

Section 105 of Public Law 101–566 (42 U.S.C. 12404) is

amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

‘‘(c) The Secretary shall require a commitment from non-Federal

sources of at least 50 percent of the cost of any demonstration

conducted under this section.’’.

SEC. 105. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.

Section 106(b) of Public Law 101–566 (42 U.S.C. 12405(b))

is amended by adding to the end of the subsection the following:

‘‘The Secretary shall also foster the exchange of generic, nonproprietary information and technology, developed pursuant to this

chapter, among industry, academia, and the Federal Government,

to help the United States economy attain the economic benefits

of this information and technology.’’.

SEC. 106. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

Section 109 of Public Law 101–566 (42 U.S.C. 12408) is

amended—

(1) by striking ‘‘to other Acts’’ and inserting ‘‘under other

Acts’’;

(2) by striking ‘‘and’’ from the end of paragraph (2);

(3) by striking the period from the end of paragraph (3)

and inserting ‘‘;’’; and

(4) by adding at the end of the section the following:

‘‘(4) $14,500,000 for fiscal year 1996;

‘‘(5) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 1997;
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‘‘(6) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1998;

‘‘(7) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1999;

‘‘(8) $35,000,000 for fiscal year 2000; and

‘‘(9) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.’’.

TITLE II—FUEL CELLS

SEC. 201. INTEGRATION OF FUEL CELLS WITH HYDROGEN

PRODUCTION SYSTEMS.

(a) Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of

this section, and subject to the availability of appropriations made

specifically for this section, the Secretary of Energy shall solicit

proposals for projects to prove the feasibility of integrating fuel

cells with—

(1) photovoltaic systems for hydrogen production; or

(2) systems for hydrogen production from solid waste via

gasification or steam reforming.

(b) Each proposal submitted in response to the solicitation

under this section shall be evaluated on a competitive gas is using

peer review. The Secretary is not required to make an award

under this section in the absence of a meritorious proposals.

(c) The Secretary shall give preference, in making an award

under this section, to proposals that—

(1) are submitted jointly from consortia including academic

institutions, industry, State or local governments, and Federal

laboratories; and

(2) reflect proven experience and capability with technologies relevant to the systems described in subsections (a)(1)

and (a)(2).

(d) In the case of a proposal involving development or

demonstration, the Secretary shall require a commitment from nonFederal sources of at least 50 percent of the cost of the development

or demonstration portion of the proposal.

(e) The Secretary shall establish, after consultation with other

Federal agencies, terms and conditions under which Federal funding

will be provided under this title that are consistent with the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures referred to in

section 101(d)(12) of the Uruguay Round Agreement Act (19 U.S.C.

3511(d)(12)).

SEC. 202. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated, for activities under

this section, a total of $50,000,000 for fiscal years 1997 and 1998,

to remain available until September 30, 1999.

TITLE III—DOE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL PROGRAM

QUALITY

SEC. 301. TEMPORARY APPOINTMENTS FOR SCIENTIFIC AND

TECHNICAL EXPERTS IN DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.

(a) The Secretary, utilizing authority under other applicable

law and the authority of this section, may appoint for a limited

term, or on a temporary basis, scientists, engineers, and other

technical and professional personnel on leave of

absence from academic, industrial, or research institutions to work

for the Department.
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(b) The Department may pay, to the extent authorized for

certain other Federal employees by section 5723 of title 5, United

States Code, travel expenses for any individual appointed for a

limited term or on a temporary basis and transportation expenses

of his or her immediate family and his or her household goods

and personal effects from that individual’s residence at the time

of selection or assignment to his or her duty station. The Department may pay such travel expenses to the same extent for such

an individual’s return to the former place of residence from his

or her duty station, upon separation from the Federal service following an agreed period of service. The Department may also pay

a per diem allowance at a rate not to exceed the daily amounts

prescribed under section 5702 of title 5 to such an individual,

in lieu of transportation expenses of the immediate family and

household goods and personal effects, for the period of his or her

employment with the Department. Notwithstanding any other

provision of law, the employer’s contribution to any retirement,

life insurance, or health benefit plan for an individual appointed

for a term of one year or less, which could be extended for no

more than one additional year, may be made or reimbursed from

appropriations available to the Department.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.