IIA

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 655

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 3 (legislative day, MAY 1), 1995

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources

AN ACT

To authorize basic research, development, and demonstration

on hydrogen as a fuel, 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 ‘‘Hydrogen Future Act

5 of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—

8 (1) fossil fuels, the main energy source of the

9 present, have provided this country with tremendous

10 supply but are limited and polluting;

11 (2) additional basic research and development

12 are needed to encourage private sector investment in
2

HR 655 RFS

1 development of new and better energy sources and

2 enabling technologies;

3 (3) hydrogen holds tremendous promise as a

4 fuel, because it can be extracted from water and can

5 be burned much more cleanly than conventional

6 fuels;

7 (4) hydrogen production efficiency is a major

8 technical barrier to society collectively benefiting

9 from one of the great energy sources of the future;

10 (5) an aggressive, results-oriented, multiyear re11 search initiative on efficient hydrogen fuel produc12 tion and use should continue; and

13 (6) the current Federal effort to develop hydro14 gen as a fuel is inadequate.

15 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

16 The purposes of this Act are—

17 (1) to provide for a basic research, develop18 ment, and demonstration program leading to the

19 production, storage, transport, and use of hydrogen

20 for industrial, residential, transportation, and utility

21 applications; and

22 (2) to provide for advice from academia and the

23 private sector in the implementation of the Depart24 ment of Energy hydrogen research, development,
3

HR 655 RFS

1 and demonstration program to ensure that economic

2 benefits of the program accrue to the United States.

3 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

4 For purposes of this Act—

5 (1) the term ‘‘demonstration’’ means a valida6 tion of the technical feasibility of a theory or proc7 ess;

8 (2) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart9 ment of Energy; and

10 (3) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

11 of Energy.

12 SEC. 5. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

13 (a) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Pursuant to this sec14 tion, the Spark M. Matsunaga Hydrogen Research, Devel15 opment, and Demonstration Act of 1990 and the Energy

16 Policy Act of 1992, and in accordance with the purposes

17 of this Act, the Secretary shall provide for a hydrogen en18 ergy basic research, development, and demonstration pro19 gram relating to production, storage, transportation, and

20 use of hydrogen, with the goal of enabling the private sec21 tor to demonstrate the technical feasibility of using hydro22 gen for industrial, residential, transportation, and utility

23 applications. In establishing priorities for Federal funding

24 under this section, the Secretary shall survey private sec25 tor hydrogen activities and take steps to ensure that ac-
4

HR 655 RFS

1 tivities under this section do not displace or compete with

2 the privately funded hydrogen activities of United States

3 industry.

4 (b) SCHEDULE.—Within 180 days after the date of

5 the enactment of the later of this Act or an Act providing

6 appropriations for programs authorized by this Act, the

7 Secretary shall solicit proposals from all interested parties

8 for carrying out the research, development, and dem9 onstration activities authorized under this section. The

10 Secretary may consider a proposal from a contractor who

11 manages and operates a Department facility under con12 tract with the Department, and the contractor may per13 form the work at that facility or any other facility. Within

14 180 days after such solicitation, if the Secretary identifies

15 proposals worthy of Federal assistance, financial assist16 ance shall be awarded under this section competitively,

17 using peer review of proposals with appropriate protection

18 of proprietary information. The Secretary shall use appro19 priations authorized by this Act that are not allocated for

20 such awards to carry out research, development, and dem21 onstration activities in accordance with the purposes of

22 this Act.

23 (c) COST SHARING.—(1) Except as otherwise pro24 vided in section 6, for research proposals funded under

25 this Act, the Secretary shall require a commitment from
5

HR 655 RFS

1 non-Federal sources of at least 25 percent of the cost of

2 the proposed program. The Secretary may reduce or elimi3 nate the non-Federal requirement under this paragraph

4 if the Secretary determines that the research is of such

5 a purely basic or fundamental nature that a non-Federal

6 commitment is not obtainable.

7 (2) The Secretary shall require at least 50 percent

8 of the costs directly and specifically related to any develop9 ment or demonstration project under this Act to be pro10 vided from non-Federal sources.

11 (d) CERTIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS.—Before

12 financial assistance is provided under this section or the

13 Spark M. Matsunaga Hydrogen Research, Development,

14 and Demonstration Act of 1990—

15 (1) the Secretary must ensure that providing

16 such financial assistance is consistent with the

17 Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Meas18 ures as approved in section 101 of the Uruguay

19 Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3511); and

20 (2) industry participants must certify that they

21 have made reasonable efforts to obtain non-Federal

22 funding for the entire cost of the project, and that

23 such non-Federal funding could not be reasonably

24 obtained.
6

HR 655 RFS

1 (e) DUPLICATION OF PROGRAMS.—The Secretary

2 shall not carry out any activities under this section that

3 unnecessarily duplicate activities carried out elsewhere by

4 the Federal Government or the private sector.

5 SEC. 6. HIGHLY INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES.

6 Of the amounts made available for carrying out sec7 tion 5, up to 5 percent shall be used to support basic re8 search on highly innovative energy technologies. Such

9 amounts shall not be subject to the cost sharing require10 ments in section 5(c).

11 SEC. 7. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.

12 The Secretary shall foster the exchange of generic,

13 nonproprietary information and technology, developed

14 pursuant to section 5, among industry, academia, and the

15 Federal Government. The Secretary shall ensure that eco16 nomic benefits of such exchange of information and tech17 nology will accrue to the United States economy.

18 SEC. 8. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

19 Within 18 months after the date of the enactment

20 of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall

21 transmit to the Congress a detailed report on the status

22 and progress of the Department’s hydrogen research and

23 development program, with particular emphasis on activi24 ties carried out pursuant to section 7 of this Act. Such

25 report shall include an analysis of the effectiveness of such
7

HR 655 RFS

1 program, to be prepared and submitted by the Hydrogen

2 Technical Advisory Panel established under section 108

3 of the Spark M. Matsunaga Hydrogen Research, Develop4 ment, and Demonstration Act of 1990. Such Panel shall

5 also make recommendations for improvements to such pro6 gram if needed, including recommendations for additional

7 legislation.

8 SEC. 9. COORDINATION AND CONSULTATION.

9 (a) COORDINATION WITH OTHER FEDERAL AGEN10 CIES.—The Secretary shall coordinate all hydrogen re11 search and development activities within the Department,

12 and with the activities of other Federal agencies involved

13 in similar research and development, including the De14 partment of Defense, the Department of Transportation,

15 and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

16 Further, the Secretary shall pursue opportunities for co17 operation with such Federal entities.

18 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall consult

19 with the Hydrogen Technical Advisory Panel established

20 under section 108 of the Spark M. Matsunaga Hydrogen

21 Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1990

22 as necessary in carrying out this Act.
8

HR 655 RFS

1 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 (a) GENERAL AUUTHORIZATION.—There are author3 ized to be appropriated, to carry out the purposes of this

4 Act—

5 (1) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1996;

6 (2) $35,000,000 for fiscal year 1997; and

7 (3) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 1998.

8 (b) RELATED AUTHORIZATIONS.—(1) For each of

9 the fiscal years 1996, 1997, and 1998, the total amount

10 which may be obligated for Energy Supply Research and

11 Development Activities shall not exceed the total amount

12 obligated for such activities in fiscal year 1995.

13 (2) Paragraph (1) of this subsection does not author14 ize the appropriation of any Federal funds.

Passed the House of Representatives May 2, 1995.

Attest: ROBIN H. CARLE,

Clerk.