I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5031 
To direct the Secretary of Energy to provide for prize competitions relating 
to climate and energy, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 15, 2018 
Mr. LIPINSKI (for himself, Mr. FASO, Mr. CRIST, Mr. CURBELO of Florida, 
Mrs. MURPHY of Florida, and Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Energy to provide for prize com-
petitions relating to climate and energy, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Challenges & Prizes 
for Climate Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. CLIMATE SOLUTIONS CHALLENGES. 
(a) AUTHORITY.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy 
shall establish a program to be known as ‘‘Climate Solu-
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tions Challenges’’ for carrying out prize competitions de-
scribed under subsection (d) pursuant to section 24 of the 
Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 
U.S.C. 3719) relating to the climate and energy. 
(b) PRIZE COMMITTEES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall assem-
ble a prize committee with respect to each prize 
competition that shall define the scope and detail of, 
and provide the requirements for, the prize competi-
tions under this section. Such committee shall be 
composed of— 
(A) members from the Federal agency, de-
partment, or office that most appropriately cor-
responds with the topic of the prize competi-
tion, including— 
(i) with respect to a prize competition 
under subsection (c)(4), the Administrator 
of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
ministration and the Director of the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration; and 
(ii) with respect to a prize competition 
under subsection (c)(5), the Director of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin-
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istration and the Director of the National 
Technical Information Service; and 
(B) representatives of any other entities, 
as determined appropriate by the Secretary, in-
cluding State and local governments and the 
private sector. 
(2) DEFINING TOPIC AREAS.—The prize com-
mittee may modify and define the scope of the prize 
areas described under subsection (c), so long as such 
modification is in accordance with descriptions in 
such subsection. 
(3) INCENTIVE FOR PRIZE COMPETITION.—The 
prize committee for each prize competition shall de-
termine the incentive for the prize competition. In 
determining the incentive, the committee shall con-
sider— 
(A) a cash prize; 
(B) access to Government facilities, such 
as through a lab-embedded entrepreneurship 
program of the Department of Energy, a coop-
erative research and development agreement, or 
other method; 
(C) advance market commitments for tech-
nologies of use or promise to the Federal Gov-
ernment; and 
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(D) any other incentive provided for by 
law. 
(4) JUDGING CRITERIA.—The prize committee 
for each prize competition shall establish judging cri-
teria for the competition that shall include, at a min-
imum— 
(A) potential for the solution to become a 
commercial product or service or advance 
knowledge to further the public good; 
(B) consideration of how likely the solution 
is to lead to subsequent research, development, 
or manufacturing in the United States; 
(C) the degree to which the solution will 
lower the climate footprint of the United States; 
and 
(D) the degree to which the solution will 
lower the global climate footprint. 
(5) CONSIDERATION.—In carrying out this sec-
tion, the committee shall take into consideration the 
best practices provided for in the challenges and 
prizes toolkit made publicly available on December 
15, 2016, by the General Services Administration. 
(6) DEFINITION OF ADVANCE MARKET COMMIT-
MENT.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘advance mar-
ket commitment’’ means a commitment by the Fed-
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eral Government to purchase a set number of units 
of a product from a private sector entity at an 
agreed-upon price, assuming pre-specified criteria 
are met. 
(c) PRIZE COMPETITIONS.—In carrying out the pro-
gram, the Secretary shall provide for prize competitions, 
including at least one prize competition on each of the fol-
lowing: 
(1) CARBON CAPTURE AND BENEFICIAL USE.— 
Solutions to capture carbon directly from the atmos-
phere or from sources that would otherwise be emit-
ted to the atmosphere, and convert it to a beneficial 
use that does not result in near-term re-release into 
the atmosphere, unless such re-release offsets the 
emission of additional carbon into the atmosphere, 
such that the net effect of the solution is to reduce 
the overall amount of carbon being emitted to the 
atmosphere. 
(2) ENERGY EFFICIENCY.—Solutions to achieve 
transformative increases in energy efficiency, defined 
as an increase in energy efficiency of 2 times or 
more over commonly-available technology without a 
proportional increase in cost. 
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(3) ENERGY
STORAGE.—Solutions to achieve 
implementation or grid integration of advanced en-
ergy storage technology. 
(4) CLIMATE
RESILIENCY.—Solutions to pro-
vide new or improved approaches to mitigating or 
adapting to the effects of climate change (such as 
floods, drought, excessive heat and cold, and severe 
weather) in rural or urban areas. 
(5) DATA ANALYTICS.—Solutions to— 
(A) provide new or improved tools that use 
data to better model Earth’s climate at a glob-
al, regional, or local scale; 
(B) forecast climate-related phenomena 
(such as weather, seasonal trends, oceanic and 
atmospheric circulation); or 
(C) provide actionable information on the 
climate and related phenomena to government, 
industry, and members of the public. 
(d) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS.—In addition to such 
sums as may be appropriated or otherwise made available 
to the Secretary to award prizes under this section, the 
Secretary may accept funds from other Federal agencies, 
private sector entities, and State and local governments 
to award prizes under this section. The Secretary may not 
give any special consideration relating to the selection of 
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awards under the prize competition to any private sector 
entity or individual in return for a donation to the Sec-
retary or prize committee. 
(e) ELIGIBILITY.—Notwithstanding section 24(g)(3) 
of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 
1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719(g)(3)), for a group to be eligible 
for an award under this section, at least one member of 
such group shall be a citizen or permanent resident of the 
United States. 
(f) COMPLETION
OF PRIZE COMPETITIONS.—The 
prize competitions carried out under this section shall be 
completed not later than the date that is 5 years after 
the program is established under subsection (a). 
(g) GAO REPORT.—Not later than the date of com-
pletion under subsection (f), the Comptroller General of 
the United States shall submit to Congress a report on 
the impact and the effectiveness of the program carried 
out under this section. 
(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 to carry out 
this Act, to remain available until expended. 
Æ 
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