Union Calendar No. 46

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 655

[Report No. 104–95]

A BILL

To authorize the hydrogen research, development,

of Energy, and for other purposes.and demonstration programs of the Department

MARCH 30, 1995

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee

dered to be printedof the Whole House on the State of the Union, and or-
IB

Union Calendar No. 46

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 655

[Report No. 104–95]

To authorize the hydrogen research, development, and demonstration

programs of the Department of Energy, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 24, 1995

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

Committee on Science

MARCH 30, 1995

Additional sponsors: Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. WELDON of Florida,

Mr. BAKER of California, Mr. GRAHAM, Mrs. SEASTRAND, and Mr.

GUTKNECHT

MARCH 30, 1995

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 24, 1995]

A BILL

To authorize the hydrogen research, development, and demonstration programs of the Department of Energy, and

for other purposes.
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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

13 development of new and better energy sources and en14 abling technologies;

15 (3) hydrogen holds tremendous promise as a fuel,

16 because it can be extracted from water and can be

17 burned much more cleanly than conventional fuels;

18 (4) hydrogen production efficiency is a major

19 technical barrier to society collectively benefiting from

20 one of the great energy sources of the future;

21 (5) an aggressive, results-oriented, multiyear re22 search initiative on efficient hydrogen fuel production

23 and use should continue; and

24 (6) the current Federal effort to develop hydrogen

25 as a fuel is inadequate.
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1 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

2 The purposes of this Act are—

3 (1) to provide for a basic research, development,

4 and demonstration program leading to the produc5 tion, storage, transport, and use of hydrogen for in6 dustrial, residential, transportation, and utility ap7 plications; and

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

9 private sector in the implementation of the Depart10 ment of Energy hydrogen research, development, and

11 demonstration program to ensure that economic bene12 fits of the program accrue to the United States.

13 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

14 For purposes of this Act—

15 (1) the term ‘‘demonstration’’ means a valida16 tion of the technical feasibility of a theory or process;

17 (2) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart18 ment of Energy; and

19 (3) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of

20 Energy.

21 SEC. 5. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

22 (a) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Pursuant to this sec23 tion, the Spark M. Matsunaga Hydrogen Research, Devel24 opment, and Demonstration Act of 1990 and the Energy

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

26 of this Act, the Secretary shall provide for a hydrogen en-
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1 ergy research, development, and demonstration program re2 lating to production, storage, transportation, and use of hy3 drogen, with the goal of enabling the private sector to dem4 onstrate the technical feasibility of using hydrogen for in5 dustrial, residential, transportation, and utility applica6 tions. In establishing priorities for Federal funding under

7 this section, the Secretary shall survey private sector hydro8 gen activities and take steps to ensure that activities under

9 this section do not displace or compete with the privately

10 funded hydrogen activities of United States industry.

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

12 enactment of the later of this Act or an Act providing ap13 propriations for programs authorized by this Act, the Sec14 retary shall solicit proposals from all interested parties (in15 cluding the Department’s laboratories) for carrying out the

16 research, development, and demonstration activities author17 ized under this section. Within 180 days after such solicita18 tion, if the Secretary identifies proposals worthy of Federal

19 assistance, financial assistance shall be awarded under this

20 section competitively, using peer review of proposals with

21 appropriate protection of proprietary information. The

22 Secretary shall use appropriations authorized by this Act

23 that are not allocated for such awards to carry out research,

24 development, and demonstration activities in accordance

25 with the purposes of this Act.
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1 (c) COST SHARING.—(1) Except as otherwise provided

2 in section 6, for research and development proposals funded

3 under this Act, the Secretary shall require a commitment

4 from non-Federal sources of at least 20 percent of the cost

5 of the proposed program. The Secretary may reduce or

6 eliminate the non-Federal requirement under this para7 graph if the Secretary determines that the research and de8 velopment is of such a purely basic or fundamental nature

9 that a non-Federal commitment is not obtainable.

10 (2) The Secretary shall require at least 50 percent of

11 the costs directly and specifically related to any demonstra12 tion project under this Act to be provided from non-Federal

13 sources. The Secretary may reduce the non-Federal require14 ment under this paragraph if the Secretary determines that

15 the reduction is necessary and appropriate considering the

16 technological risks involved in the project and is necessary

17 to serve the purposes and goals of this Act.

18 (3) In calculating the amount of the non-Federal com19 mitment under paragraph (1) or (2), the Secretary shall

20 include cash, and the fair market value of personnel, serv21 ices, equipment, and other resources.

22 (d) CERTIFICATIONS.—Before financial assistance is

23 provided under this section or the Spark M. Matsunaga

24 Hydrogen Research, Development, and Demonstration Act

25 of 1990—
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1 (1) the Secretary must certify that providing

2 such financial assistance is consistent with the Agree3 ment on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures de4 scribed in section 771(8) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19

5 U.S.C. 1677(8)); and

6 (2) industry participants must certify that they

7 have made reasonable efforts to obtain non-Federal

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

9 such non-Federal funding could not be reasonably

10 obtained.

11 (e) DUPLICATION OF PROGRAMS.—The Secretary shall

12 not carry out any activities under this section that unneces13 sarily duplicate activities carried out elsewhere by the Fed14 eral Government or the private sector.

15 SEC. 6. HIGHLY INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES.

16 Of the amounts made available for carrying out section

17 5, up to 5 percent shall be used to support research on high18 ly innovative energy technologies. Such amounts shall not

19 be subject to the cost sharing requirements in section 5(c).

20 SEC. 7. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.

21 The Secretary shall foster the exchange of generic,

22 nonproprietary information and technology, developed pur23 suant to section 5, among industry, academia, and the Fed24 eral Government. The Secretary shall ensure that economic
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1 benefits of such exchange of information and technology will

2 accrue to the United States economy.

3 SEC. 8. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

4 Within 18 months after the date of the enactment of

5 this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall trans6 mit to the Congress a detailed report on the status and

7 progress of the Department’s hydrogen research and devel8 opment program. Such report shall include an analysis of

9 the effectiveness of such program, to be prepared and sub10 mitted by the Hydrogen Technical Advisory Panel estab11 lished under section 108 of the Spark M. Matsunaga Hydro12 gen Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of

13 1990. Such Panel shall also make recommendations for im14 provements to such program if needed, including rec15 ommendations for additional legislation.

16 SEC. 9. COORDINATION AND CONSULTATION.

17 (a) COORDINATION WITH OTHER FEDERAL AGEN18 CIES.—The Secretary shall coordinate all hydrogen research

19 and development activities within the Department, and

20 with the activities of other Federal agencies involved in

21 similar research and development, including the Depart22 ment of Defense, the Department of Transportation, and the

23 National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Further,

24 the Secretary shall pursue opportunities for cooperation

25 with such Federal entities.
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1 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall consult with

2 the Hydrogen Technical Advisory Panel established under

3 section 108 of the Spark M. Matsunaga Hydrogen Research,

4 Development, and Demonstration Act of 1990 as necessary

5 in carrying out this Act.

6 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

7 (a) GENERAL AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized

8 to be appropriated, to carry out the purposes of this Act—

9 (1) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1996;

10 (2) $35,000,000 for fiscal year 1997; and

11 (3) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 1998.

12 (b) RELATED AUTHORIZATIONS.—(1) For each of the

13 fiscal years 1996, 1997, and 1998, the total amount which

14 may be obligated for Energy Supply Research and Develop15 ment Activities shall not exceed the total amount obligated

16 for such activities in fiscal year 1995.

17 (2) Paragraph (1) of this subsection does not authorize

18 the appropriation of any Federal funds.

Amend the title to read as follows: ‘‘A bill to authorize basic research, development, and demonstration on

hydrogen as a fuel, and for other purposes.’’.