IIB 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5638 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JULY 12, 2016 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources 
AN ACT 
To provide for the establishment at the Department of 
Energy of a Solar Fuels Basic Research Initiative. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Solar Fuels Innovation 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. SOLAR FUELS BASIC RESEARCH INITIATIVE. 
(a) AMENDMENT.—Section 973 of the Energy Policy 
Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16313) is amended to read as 
follows: 
‘‘SEC. 973. SOLAR FUELS BASIC RESEARCH INITIATIVE. 
‘‘(a) INITIATIVE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 
out a research initiative, to be known as the Solar 
Fuels Basic Research Initiative, to expand theo-
retical and fundamental knowledge of photo-
chemistry, electrochemistry, biochemistry, and mate-
rials science useful for the practical development of 
experimental systems to convert solar energy to 
chemical energy. 
‘‘(2) LEVERAGING.—The Secretary shall lever-
age expertise and resources from the Basic Energy 
Sciences Program and Biological and Environmental 
Research Program within the Office of Science, and 
the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable En-
ergy, as provided under subsections (b) and (c). 
‘‘(3) TEAMS.—The Secretary shall organize ac-
tivities under the Solar Fuels Basic Research Initia-
tive to include multidisciplinary teams leveraging ex-
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pertise from the National Laboratories, universities, 
and the private sector to the extent practicable. 
These multidisciplinary teams shall pursue aggres-
sive, milestone-driven basic research goals. The Sec-
retary shall provide sufficient resources for those 
teams to achieve those goals over a period of time 
to be determined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary 
is authorized to organize additional activities under 
this subsection through Energy Frontier Research 
Centers, Energy Innovation Hubs, or other organiza-
tional structures. 
‘‘(b) ARTIFICIAL PHOTOSYNTHESIS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, as 
part of the Solar Fuels Basic Research Initiative, 
carry out a program to support research needed to 
bridge scientific barriers and discover knowledge rel-
evant to artificial photosynthetic systems. In car-
rying out activities under this subsection, the Direc-
tor of the Office of Basic Energy Sciences shall sup-
port basic research to pursue distinct lines of sci-
entific inquiry, including photoinduced production of 
hydrogen and oxygen from water, and the sustain-
able photoinduced reduction of carbon dioxide to fuel 
products including hydrocarbons, alcohols, carbon 
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monoxide, and natural gas. The Assistant Secretary 
for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy shall 
support translational research, development, and val-
idation of physical concepts developed under this 
subsection. 
‘‘(2) STANDARD
OF
REVIEW.—The Secretary 
shall review the program activities under this sub-
section to determine the achievement of technical 
milestones. 
‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION.—Subject to sub-
section (d), there are authorized for carrying 
out activities under this subsection for each of 
fiscal years 2017 through 2020— 
‘‘(i) $50,000,000 from funds within 
the Basic Energy Sciences Program ac-
count; and 
‘‘(ii) $25,000,000 from funds within 
the Energy Efficiency and Renewable En-
ergy account. 
‘‘(B) PROHIBITION.—No funds authorized 
under this subsection may be obligated or ex-
pended for commercial application of energy 
technology. 
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