I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3246 

To provide for a program of research, development, demonstration, and 

commercial application in vehicle technologies at the Department of Energy. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 17, 2009 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mrs. BIGGERT) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Science and Technology 

A BILL 

To provide for a program of research, development, demonstration, and commercial application in vehicle technologies at the Department of Energy. 

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 ‘‘Advanced Vehicle 

5 Technology Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) According to the Energy Information Ad9 ministration, the transportation sector accounts for 

10 approximately 28 percent of the United States priVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:48 Jul 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3246.IH H3246

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1 mary energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions, 

2 and 24 percent of global oil demand. 

3 (2) The United States transportation sector is 

4 over 95 percent dependent on petroleum, and over 

5 60 percent of petroleum demand is met by imported 

6 supplies. 

7 (3) United States heavy truck fuel consumption 

8 will increase 23 percent by 2030, while overall trans9 portation energy use will decline by 1 percent. 

10 (4) The domestic automotive and commercial 

11 vehicle manufacturing sectors have increasingly lim12 ited resources for research and development of ad13 vanced technologies. 

14 (5) Vehicle, engine, and component manufactur15 ers are playing a more important role in vehicle 

16 technology development, and should be better inte17 grated into Federal research efforts. 

18 (6) Priorities for the Department of Energy’s 

19 vehicle technologies research have shifted drastically 

20 in recent years among diesel hybrids, hydrogen fuel 

21 cell vehicles, and plug-in electric hybrids, with little 

22 continuity among them. 

23 (7) The integration of vehicle, communication, 

24 and infrastructure technologies has great potential 


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1 for efficiency gains through better management of 

2 the total transportation system. 

3 (8) The Federal Government should balance its 

4 role in researching longer-term exploratory concepts 

5 and developing nearer-term transformational tech6 nologies for vehicles. 

7 SEC. 3. OBJECTIVES. 

8 The objectives of this Act are to— 

9 (1) develop technologies and practices that— 

10 (A) improve the fuel efficiency and emis11 sions of all vehicles produced in the United 

12 States; and 

13 (B) reduce transportation sector reliance 

14 on petroleum-based fuels; 

15 (2) support domestic research and manufac16 turing of advanced vehicles, engines, and compo17 nents; 

18 (3) enable moving larger volumes of freight and 

19 more passengers with less energy and emissions; 

20 (4) allow for greater consumer choice of vehicle 

21 technologies and fuels; 

22 (5) shorten technology development and inte23 gration cycles in the vehicle industry; 

24 (6) ensure a proper balance and diversity of 

25 Federal investment in vehicle technologies; and 


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1 (7) strengthen partnerships between Federal 

2 and State governmental agencies and the private 

3 and academic sectors. 

4 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

5 For the purposes of this Act: 

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

7 means the Department of Energy. 

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

9 the Secretary of Energy. 

10 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The following sums are author12 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary for research, de13 velopment, demonstration, and commercial application of 

14 vehicles and related technologies, including activities au15 thorized under this Act: 

16 (1) $550,000,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

17 (2) $560,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. 

18 (3) $570,000,000 for fiscal year 2012. 

19 (4) $580,000,000 for fiscal year 2013. 

20 (5) $590,000,000 for fiscal year 2014. 

21 (b) MEDIUM AND HEAVY DUTY COMMERCIAL VEHI22 CLES.—From the amounts authorized in under subsection 

23 (a), there are authorized to be appropriated for carrying 

24 out title II— 

25 (1) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 


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1 (2) $210,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

2 (3) $220,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

3 (4) $230,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

4 (5) $240,000,000 for fiscal year 2014. 

5 (c) USER FACILITIES.—From the amounts author6 ized in under subsection (a), there are authorized to be 

7 appropriated for carrying out section 104— 

8 (1) $35,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

9 (2) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

10 (3) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

11 (4) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

12 (5) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2014. 

13 (d) NON-ROAD PILOT PROGRAM.—From the 

14 amounts authorized in under subsection (a), there are au15 thorized to be appropriated for carrying out section 214— 

16 (1) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

17 (2) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; and 

18 (3) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2012. 

19 TITLE I—VEHICLE RESEARCH 

20 AND DEVELOPMENT 

21 SEC. 101. PROGRAM. 

22 (a) ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary shall conduct a pro23 gram of basic and applied research, development, dem24 onstration, and commercial application activities on mate25 rials, technologies, and processes with the potential to subVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:48 Jul 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3246.IH H3246

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1 stantially reduce or eliminate petroleum use and the re2 lated emissions of the Nation’s automotive and commercial 

3 vehicle sectors, including activities in the areas of— 

4 (1) hybridization or full electrification of vehicle 

5 systems; 

6 (2) batteries and other energy storage devices; 

7 (3) power electronics; 

8 (4) vehicle manufacturing technologies and 

9 processes; 

10 (5) engine efficiency and combustion optimiza11 tion; 

12 (6) waste heat recovery; 

13 (7) transmission and drivetrains; 

14 (8) hydrogen fuel cells and internal combustion 

15 engines, infrastructure, and related technologies; 

16 (9) aerodynamics, rolling resistance, and acces17 sory power loads of vehicles and associated equip18 ment; 

19 (10) vehicle weight reduction; 

20 (11) friction and wear reduction; 

21 (12) engine and component durability; 

22 (13) innovative propulsion systems; 

23 (14) engine compatibility with and optimization 

24 for nonpetroleum fuels; 


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1 (15) modeling and simulation of vehicle and 

2 transportation systems; 

3 (16) refueling and charging infrastructure for 

4 alternative fueled and electric or plug-in electric hy5 brid vehicles; 

6 (17) sensing, communications, and actuation 

7 technologies for vehicle, electrical grid, and infra8 structure; 

9 (18) efficient use and recycling of rare earth 

10 materials, and reduction of precious metals and 

11 other high-cost materials in vehicles; 

12 (19) aftertreatment technologies; 

13 (20) thermal management of battery systems; 

14 (21) development of common standards, speci15 fications, and architectures for both transportation 

16 and stationary battery applications; 

17 (22) consumer education and outreach; and 

18 (23) other research areas as determined by the 

19 Secretary. 

20 (b) TRANSFORMATIONAL TECHNOLOGY.—The Sec21 retary shall ensure that the Department continues to sup22 port activities and maintains competency in mid- to long23 term transformational vehicle technologies with potential 

24 to achieve deep reductions in petroleum use and emissions, 

25 including activities in the areas of— 


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1 (1) hydrogen fuel cells, internal combustion en2 gines, storage, infrastructure, and technology valida3 tion, and development of hydrogen safety codes and 

4 standards; 

5 (2) multiple battery chemistries and novel en6 ergy storage devices; 

7 (3) communication and connectivity among ve8 hicles, infrastructure, and the electrical grid; and 

9 (4) other innovative technologies research and 

10 development, as determined by the Secretary. 

11 (c) INDUSTRY PARTICIPATION.—To the maximum 

12 extent practicable, activities under this Act shall be carried 

13 out in partnership or collaboration with automotive manu14 facturers, heavy commercial and transit vehicle manufac15 turers, vehicle and engine equipment and component man16 ufacturers, manufacturing equipment manufacturers, ad17 vanced vehicle service providers, fuel producers and energy 

18 suppliers, electric utilities, universities, national labora19 tories, and independent research laboratories. In carrying 

20 out this Act the Secretary shall— 

21 (1) determine whether a wide range of domestic 

22 manufacturers and suppliers are represented in on23 going public-private partnership activities and, where 

24 possible, partner with firms that have not traditionVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:48 Jul 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3246.IH H3246

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1 ally participated in federally-sponsored research and 

2 development activities; 

3 (2) leverage the capabilities and resources of, 

4 and formalize partnerships with, industry-led stake5 holder organizations, nonprofit organizations, indus6 try consortia, and trade associations with expertise 

7 in the research and development of, and education 

8 and outreach activities in, advanced automotive and 

9 commercial vehicle technologies; 

10 (3) streamline processes for transferring tech11 nologies and research findings to industry and con12 sumers; 

13 (4) give consideration to conversion of existing 

14 or former vehicle technology manufacturing facilities 

15 for the purposes of this Act; and 

16 (5) make every effort to ensure that tech17 nologies developed under this Act are produced in 

18 the United States. 

19 (d) INTERAGENCY AND INTRAAGENCY COORDINA20 TION.—To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary 

21 shall coordinate research, development, demonstration, 

22 and commercial application activities among— 

23 (1) relevant programs within the Department, 

24 including— 


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1 (A) the Office of Energy Efficiency and 

2 Renewable Energy; 

3 (B) the Office of Science; 

4 (C) the Office of Electricity Delivery and 

5 Energy Reliability; 

6 (D) the Office of Fossil Energy; 

7 (E) the Advanced Research Projects Agen8 cy—Energy; and 

9 (F) other offices as determined by the Sec10 retary; and 

11 (2) relevant technology research and develop12 ment programs within other Federal agencies, as de13 termined by the Secretary or an officer of the Exec14 utive Office of the President. 

15 (e) FEDERAL DEMONSTRATION OF TECH16 NOLOGIES.—The Secretary shall make information avail17 able to procurement programs of Federal agencies regard18 ing the potential to demonstrate technologies resulting 

19 from activities funded through programs under this Act. 

20 (f) INTERGOVERNMENTAL COORDINATION.—The 

21 Secretary shall seek opportunities to leverage resources 

22 and support initiatives of State and local governments in 

23 developing and promoting advanced vehicle technologies, 

24 manufacturing, and infrastructure. 


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1 SEC. 102. SENSING AND COMMUNICATIONS TECH2 NOLOGIES. 

3 The Secretary, in coordination with the relevant re4 search programs of other Federal agencies, shall conduct 

5 research, development, and demonstration activities on 

6 connectivity of vehicle and transportation systems, includ7 ing on sensing, computation, communication, and actu8 ation technologies that allow for reduced fuel use, opti9 mized traffic flow, improved freight logistics, and vehicle 

10 electrification, including technologies for— 

11 (1) onboard vehicle, engine, and component 

12 sensing and actuation; 

13 (2) vehicle-to-vehicle sensing and communica14 tion; 

15 (3) vehicle-to-infrastructure sensing and com16 munication; and 

17 (4) vehicle integration with the electrical grid. 

18 SEC. 103. MANUFACTURING. 

19 The Secretary shall carry out a research, develop20 ment, demonstration, and commercial application program 

21 of advanced vehicle manufacturing technologies and prac22 tices, including innovative processes to— 

23 (1) increase the production rate and decrease 

24 the cost of advanced battery manufacturing; 


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1 (2) vary manufacturing facility capability to ac2 commodate different battery chemistries and con3 figurations; 

4 (3) reduce waste streams, emissions, and en5 ergy-intensity of vehicle, engine, and component 

6 manufacturing processes; 

7 (4) recycle and remanufacture used batteries 

8 and other vehicle components for reuse in vehicles or 

9 stationary applications; 

10 (5) produce cost-effective lightweight materials 

11 such as advanced metal alloys and carbon fiber; 

12 (6) design and manufacture purpose-built hy13 drogen and fuel cell vehicles and components; and 

14 (7) produce permanent magnets for advanced 

15 vehicles. 

16 SEC. 104. USER FACILITIES. 

17 Activities under this Act may include construction, 

18 expansion, or modification of new and existing vehicle, en19 gine, and component research and testing facilities for— 

20 (1) testing or simulating interoperability of a 

21 variety of vehicle components; 

22 (2) subjecting whole or partial vehicle platforms 

23 to fully representative duty cycles and operating con24 ditions; 


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1 (3) developing and demonstrating a range of 

2 chemistries and configurations for advanced vehicle 

3 battery manufacturing; and 

4 (4) developing and demonstrating test cycles for 

5 new and alternate fuels, and other advanced vehicle 

6 technologies. 

7 TITLE II—MEDIUM AND HEAVY 

8 DUTY COMMERCIAL VEHICLES 

9 SEC. 201. PROGRAM. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in partnership 

11 with relevant research and development programs in other 

12 Federal agencies, and diverse industrial stakeholders, shall 

13 carry out a program of cooperative research, development, 

14 demonstration, and commercial application activities on 

15 advanced technologies for medium- to heavy-duty commer16 cial and transit vehicles, including activities in the areas 

17 of— 

18 (1) engine efficiency and combustion research; 

19 (2) waste heat recovery and conversion; 

20 (3) improved aerodynamics and tire rolling re21 sistance; 

22 (4) energy and space-efficient emissions control 

23 systems; 


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1 (5) heavy hybrid, hybrid hydraulic, plug-in hy2 brid, and electric platforms, and energy storage 

3 technologies; 

4 (6) drivetrain optimization; 

5 (7) friction and wear reduction; 

6 (8) engine idle and parasitic energy loss reduc7 tion; 

8 (9) electrification of accessory loads; 

9 (10) onboard sensing and communications tech10 nologies; 

11 (11) advanced lightweight materials and vehicle 

12 designs; 

13 (12) increasing freight capacity per vehicle; 

14 (13) thermal management of battery systems; 

15 (14) recharging infrastructure; 

16 (15) complete vehicle modeling and simulation; 

17 (16) vehicle and driver management systems; 

18 (17) retrofitting advanced technologies onto ex19 isting truck fleets; and 

20 (18) integration of these and other advanced 

21 systems onto a single truck and trailer platform. 

22 (b) LEADERSHIP.—The Secretary shall appoint a 

23 full-time Director to coordinate research, development, 

24 demonstration, and commercial application activities in 

25 medium- to heavy-duty commercial and transit vehicle 


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1 technologies. Responsibilities of the Director, reporting to 

2 the Program Manager for Vehicle Technologies, include— 

3 (1) improving coordination and developing con4 sensus between government agency and industry 

5 partners, and proposing new processes for program 

6 management and priority setting to better align ac7 tivities and budgets among partners; 

8 (2) frequent convening of workshops, site visits, 

9 demonstrations, conferences, investor forums, and 

10 other events in which information and research find11 ings are shared among program participants and in12 terested stakeholders; 

13 (3) developing a budget for the Department’s 

14 activities with regard to the interagency program, 

15 and providing consultation and guidance on vehicle 

16 technology funding priorities across agencies; 

17 (4) determining a process for reviewing pro18 gram technical goals, targets, and timetables and, 

19 where applicable, aided by life-cycle impact and cost 

20 analysis, proposing revisions in light of program 

21 progress, available funding, and rate of technology 

22 adoption; 

23 (5) evaluating ongoing activities of the program 

24 and recommending project modifications, including 

25 the termination of projects, where applicable; and 


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1 (6) recruiting new industry participants to the 

2 interagency program, including truck, trailer, and 

3 component manufacturers who have not traditionally 

4 participated in federally sponsored research and 

5 technology development activities. 

6 (c) REPORTING.—At the end of each fiscal year the 

7 partnership shall submit to the Secretary and relevant 

8 Congressional committees of jurisdiction an annual report 

9 describing activities undertaken in the previous year, ac10 tive industry participants, efforts to recruit new partici11 pants, progress of the program in meeting goals and 

12 timelines, and a strategic plan for funding of activities 

13 across agencies. 

14 SEC. 202. CLASS 8 TRUCK DEMONSTRATION. 

15 The Secretary shall conduct a competitive grant pro16 gram to demonstrate the integration of multiple advanced 

17 technologies on long-haul Class 8 truck and trailer plat18 forms with a goal of improving overall freight efficiency, 

19 as measured in ton-miles per gallon, by 50 percent, includ20 ing a combination of technologies listed in section 201(a). 

21 Applicant teams may be comprised of truck and trailer 

22 manufacturers, engine and component manufacturers, 

23 fleet customers, university researchers, and other appli24 cants as appropriate for the development and demonstra25 tion of integrated Class 8 truck and trailer systems. 


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1 SEC. 203. TECHNOLOGY TESTING AND METRICS. 

2 The Secretary, in coordination with the partners of 

3 the interagency research program described in section 

4 201(a)— 

5 (1) shall develop standard testing procedures 

6 and technologies for evaluating the performance of 

7 advanced heavy vehicle technologies under a range of 

8 representative duty cycles and operating conditions, 

9 including for heavy hybrid propulsion systems; 

10 (2) may evaluate heavy vehicle performance 

11 using metrics other than those based on miles per 

12 gallon, including those based on units of volume or 

13 weight transported for freight applications, and ap14 propriate metrics based on the work performed by 

15 nonroad systems; and 

16 (3) may construct heavy duty truck and bus 

17 testing facilities. 

18 SEC. 204. NONROAD SYSTEMS PILOT PROGRAM. 

19 The Secretary is authorized to undertake a pilot pro20 gram of research, development, demonstration, and com21 mercial applications of technologies to improve total ma22 chine or system efficiency for heavy duty nonroad equip23 ment, and shall seek opportunities to transfer relevant re24 search findings and technologies between the nonroad and 

25 on-highway equipment and vehicle sectors. 

Æ 


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