I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1482 
To provide for the research and development of advanced nuclear reactor, 
solar energy, and wind energy technologies for the production of hydro-
gen, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 5, 2005 
Mr. WYNN (for himself and Mr. SHIMKUS) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Science, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide for the research and development of advanced 
nuclear reactor, solar energy, and wind energy tech-
nologies for the production of hydrogen, 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 referred to as the ‘‘Hydrogen Lib-
erty Act’’.
SEC. 2. HYDROGEN PRODUCTION PROGRAMS. 
(a) ADVANCED REACTOR HYDROGEN COGENERA-
TION PROJECT.— 
(1) PROJECT
ESTABLISHMENT.— The Sec-
retary is directed to establish an Advanced Reactor 
Hydrogen Cogeneration Project. 
(2) PROJECT DEFINITION.— The project shall 
consist of the research, development, design, con-
struction, and operation of a hydrogen production 
cogeneration research facility that, relative to the 
current commercial reactors, enhances safety fea-
tures, reduces waste production, enhances thermal 
efficiencies, increases proliferation resistance, and 
has the potential for improved economics and phys-
ical security in reactor siting. This facility shall be 
constructed so as to enable research and develop-
ment on advanced reactors of the type selected and 
on alternative approaches for reactor-based produc-
tion of hydrogen. 
(3) PROJECT MANAGEMENT.— 
(A) MANAGEMENT.—The project shall be 
managed within the Department by the Office 
of Nuclear Energy, Science, and Technology. 
(B) LEAD LABORATORY.—The lead labora-
tory for the project, providing the site for the 
reactor construction, shall be the Idaho Na-
tional Laboratory (in this subsection referred to 
as ‘‘INL’’). 
(C) STEERING
COMMITTEE.—The Sec-
retary shall establish a national steering com-
mittee with membership from the national lab-
oratories, universities, and industry to provide 
advice to the Secretary and the Director of the 
Office of Nuclear Energy, Science, and Tech-
nology on technical and program management 
aspects of the project. 
(D) COLLABORATION.—Project activities 
shall be conducted at INL, other national lab-
oratories, universities, domestic industry, and 
international partners. 
(4) PROJECT REQUIREMENTS.— 
(A) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 
(i) IN
GENERAL.—The project shall 
include planning, research and develop-
ment, design, and construction of an ad-
vanced, next-generation, nuclear energy 
system suitable for enabling further re-
search and development on advanced reac-
tor technologies and alternative approaches 
for reactor-based generation of hydrogen.
(ii) REACTOR TEST CAPABILITIES AT 
INL.—The project shall utilize, where ap-
propriate, extensive reactor test capabilities 
resident at INL. 
(iii) 
ALTERNATIVES.—The 
project 
shall be designed to explore technical, envi-
ronmental, and economic feasibility of al-
ternative approaches for reactor-based hy-
drogen production. 
(iv) INDUSTRIAL
LEAD.—The indus-
trial lead for the project shall be a com-
pany incorporated in the United States. 
(B) INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
seek international cooperation, participa-
tion, and financial contribution in this 
project. 
(ii) 
ASSISTANCE
FROM
INTER-
NATIONAL PARTNERS.—The Secretary may 
contract for assistance from specialists or 
facilities from member countries of the 
Generation IV International Forum, the 
Russian Federation, or other international 
partners where such specialists or facilities
provide access to cost-effective and relevant 
skills or test capabilities. 
(iii) GENERATION IV INTERNATIONAL 
FORUM.—International activities shall be 
coordinated with the Generation IV Inter-
national Forum. 
(iv) GENERATION
IV
NUCLEAR
EN-
ERGY SYSTEMS PROGRAM.—The Secretary 
may combine this project with the Genera-
tion IV Nuclear Energy Systems Program. 
(C) 
DEMONSTRATION.—The 
overall 
project, which may involve demonstration of se-
lected project objectives in a partner nation, 
must demonstrate both electricity and hydrogen 
production and may provide flexibility, where 
technically and economically feasible in the de-
sign and construction, to enable tests of alter-
native reactor core and cooling configurations. 
(D) PARTNERSHIPS.—The Secretary shall 
establish cost-shared partnerships with domestic 
industry or international participants for the re-
search, development, design, construction, and 
operation of the research facility, and pref-
erence in determining the final project structure 
shall be given to an overall project which re-
tains United States leadership while maximizing 
cost sharing opportunities and minimizing Fed-
eral funding responsibilities. 
(E) TARGET DATE.—The Secretary shall 
select technologies and develop the project to 
provide initial testing of either hydrogen pro-
duction or electricity generation by 2011, or 
provide a report to Congress explaining why 
this date is not feasible. 
(F) 
WAIVER
OF
CONSTRUCTION 
TIMELINES.—The Secretary is authorized to 
conduct the Advanced Reactor Hydrogen Co-
generation Project without the constraints of 
DOE Order 413.3, relating to program and 
project management for the acquisition of cap-
ital assets, as necessary to meet the specified 
operational date. 
(G) COMPETITION.—The Secretary may 
fund up to 2 teams for up to 1 year to develop 
detailed proposals for competitive evaluation 
and selection of a single proposal and concept 
for further progress. The Secretary shall define 
the format of the competitive evaluation of pro-
posals.
(H) USE OF FACILITIES.—Research facili-
ties in industry, national laboratories, or univer-
sities either within the United States or with 
cooperating international partners may be used 
to develop the enabling technologies for the re-
search facility. Utilization of domestic univer-
sity-based facilities shall be encouraged to pro-
vide educational opportunities for student devel-
opment. 
(I) ROLE OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY COM-
MISSION.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—The Nuclear Regu-
latory Commission shall have licensing and 
regulatory authority for any reactor au-
thorized under this subsection, pursuant to 
section 202 of the Energy Reorganization 
Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5842). 
(ii) RISK-BASED CRITERIA.—The Sec-
retary shall seek active participation of the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission through-
out the project to develop risk-based cri-
teria for any future commercial develop-
ment of a similar reactor architecture. 
(J) REPORT.—The Secretary shall develop 
and transmit to Congress a comprehensive
project plan not later than 3 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act. The project plan 
shall be updated annually with each annual 
budget submission. 
(b) 
ADVANCED
NUCLEAR
REACTOR
TECH-
NOLOGIES.—The Secretary shall— 
(1) prepare a detailed roadmap for carrying out 
the provisions in this Act related to advanced nu-
clear reactor technologies and for implementing the 
recommendations related to advanced nuclear reac-
tor technologies that are included in the report 
transmitted under subsection (f); and 
(2) provide for the establishment of 5 projects 
in geographic areas that are regionally and climati-
cally diverse to demonstrate the commercial produc-
tion of hydrogen at existing nuclear power plants, 
including one demonstration project at a national 
laboratory or institution of higher education using 
an advanced gas-cooled reactor. 
(c) COLLOCATION WITH HYDROGEN PRODUCTION 
FACILITY.—Section 103 of the Atomic Energy Act of 
1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new subsection: 
‘‘g. The Commission shall give priority to the licens-
ing of a utilization facility that is collocated with a hydro-
gen production facility. The Commission shall issue a final 
decision approving or disapproving the issuance of a li-
cense to construct and operate a utilization facility not 
later than the expiration of 2 years after the date of the 
submission of such application, if the application ref-
erences a Commission-certified design and an early site 
permit, unless the Commission determines that the appli-
cant has proposed material and substantial changes to the 
design or the site design parameters.’’. 
(d) SOLAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES.—The Secretary 
shall— 
(1) prepare a detailed roadmap for carrying out 
the provisions in this Act related to solar energy 
technologies and for implementing the recommenda-
tions related to solar energy technologies that are in-
cluded in the report transmitted under subsection 
(f); 
(2) provide for the establishment of 5 projects 
in geographic areas that are regionally and climati-
cally diverse to demonstrate the production of hydro-
gen at solar energy facilities, including one dem-
onstration project at a national laboratory or institu-
tion of higher education; 
(3) establish a research and development pro-
gram—
(A) to develop optimized concentrating 
solar power devices that may be used for the 
production of both electricity and hydrogen; and 
(B) to evaluate the use of thermochemical 
cycles for hydrogen production at the tempera-
tures attainable with concentrating solar power 
devices; 
(4) coordinate with activities sponsored by the 
Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, 
Science, and Technology on high-temperature mate-
rials, thermochemical cycles, and economic issues re-
lated to solar energy; 
(5) provide for the construction and operation 
of new concentrating solar power devices or solar 
power cogeneration facilities that produce hydrogen 
either concurrently with, or independently of, the 
production of electricity; 
(6) support existing facilities and research pro-
grams dedicated to the development and advance-
ment of concentrating solar power devices; and 
(7) establish a program— 
(A) to research and develop methods that 
use electricity from photovoltaic devices for the 
onsite production of hydrogen, such that no in-
termediate transmission or distribution infra-
structure is required or used and future de-
mand growth may be accommodated; 
(B) to evaluate the economics of small- 
scale electrolysis for hydrogen production; and 
(C) to research the potential of modular 
photovoltaic devices for the development of a 
hydrogen infrastructure, the security implica-
tions of a hydrogen infrastructure, and the ben-
efits potentially derived from a hydrogen infra-
structure. 
(e) WIND ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES.—The Secretary 
shall— 
(1) prepare a detailed roadmap for carrying out 
the provisions in this Act related to wind energy 
technologies and for implementing the recommenda-
tions related to wind energy technologies that are in-
cluded in the report transmitted under subsection 
(f); and 
(2) provide for the establishment of 5 projects 
in geographic areas that are regionally and climati-
cally diverse to demonstrate the production of hydro-
gen at existing wind energy facilities, including one 
demonstration project at a national laboratory or in-
stitution of higher education.
(f) REPORT.—The Secretary shall transmit to the 
Congress not later than 120 days after the date of enact-
ment of this Act a report containing detailed summaries 
of the roadmaps prepared under subsections (b)(1), 
(d)(1), and (e)(1), descriptions of the Secretary’s progress 
in establishing the projects and other programs required 
under this section, and recommendations for promoting 
the availability of advanced nuclear reactor energy tech-
nologies, solar energy technologies, and wind energy tech-
nologies for the production of hydrogen. 
SEC. 3. HYDROGEN PRODUCTION RESEARCH. 
(a) PROGRAM SUPPORT.—The Secretary shall sup-
port research programs at institutions of higher education 
for the development of advanced nuclear reactor energy 
technologies, solar energy technologies, and wind energy 
technologies for the production of hydrogen. The research 
programs supported under this section shall— 
(1) enhance fellowship and faculty assistance 
programs; 
(2) provide support for fundamental research; 
(3) encourage collaborative research among in-
dustry, national laboratories, and institutions of 
higher education; 
(4) support communication and outreach; and 
(5) to the greatest extent possible—
(A) be located in geographic areas that are 
regionally and climatically diverse; and 
(B) be located at part B institutions, mi-
nority institutions, and institutions of higher 
education located in States participating in the 
Experimental Program to Stimulate Competi-
tive Research of the Department of Energy. 
(b) NUCLEAR REACTOR RESEARCH PROGRAMS.—Re-
search programs supported under this section that are re-
lated to advanced nuclear reactor technologies— 
(1) shall be programs that research designs for 
nuclear reactors capable of producing hydrogen from 
a variety of feedstocks; 
(2) may provide technical assistance, in collabo-
ration with the United States civilian nuclear indus-
try, to relicense and upgrade research nuclear reac-
tors at institutions of higher education involved in 
such programs; 
(3) may use funding authorized under sub-
section (d)(1) for improvements of research nuclear 
reactors at institutions of higher education involved 
in such programs as part of a focused effort that 
emphasizes research, training, and education; and 
(4) may use funding authorized under sub-
section (d)(1) to offset a portion of the operating
and maintenance costs of a research nuclear reactor 
at an institution of higher education involved in one 
of such programs. 
(c) INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND NA-
TIONAL
LABORATORY
INTERACTIONS.—In conjunction 
with the programs supported under this section, the Sec-
retary shall develop sabbatical, fellowship, and visiting sci-
entist programs to encourage national laboratories and in-
stitutions of higher education to share and exchange per-
sonnel. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) ADVANCED
NUCLEAR
REACTOR
TECH-
NOLOGIES RESEARCH PROGRAMS.—For the purpose 
of supporting research programs related to the de-
velopment of advanced nuclear reactor technologies 
under this section, there are authorized to be appro-
priated to the Secretary— 
(A) $65,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 
(B) $74,750,000 for fiscal year 2007; 
(C) $85,962,500 for fiscal year 2008; 
(D) $98,856,875 for fiscal year 2009; 
(E) $113,685,406 for fiscal year 2010; 
(F) $130,738,217 for fiscal year 2011; 
(G) $150,348,950 for fiscal year 2012; 
(H) $172,901,292 for fiscal year 2013;
(I) $198,836,486 for fiscal year 2014; and 
(J) $228,661,959 for fiscal year 2015. 
(2) SOLAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES RESEARCH 
PROGRAMS.—For the purpose of supporting research 
programs related to the development of solar energy 
technologies under this section, there are authorized 
to be appropriated to the Secretary— 
(A) $65,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 
(B) $74,750,000 for fiscal year 2007; 
(C) $85,962,500 for fiscal year 2008; 
(D) $98,856,875 for fiscal year 2009; 
(E) $113,685,406 for fiscal year 2010; 
(F) $130,738,217 for fiscal year 2011; 
(G) $150,348,950 for fiscal year 2012; 
(H) $172,901,292 for fiscal year 2013; 
(I) $198,836,486 for fiscal year 2014; and 
(J) $228,661,959 for fiscal year 2015. 
(3) WIND ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES RESEARCH 
PROGRAMS.—For the purpose of supporting research 
programs related to the development of wind energy 
technologies under this section, there are authorized 
to be appropriated to the Secretary— 
(A) $65,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 
(B) $74,750,000 for fiscal year 2007; 
(C) $85,962,500 for fiscal year 2008;
(D) $98,856,875 for fiscal year 2009; 
(E) $113,685,406 for fiscal year 2010; 
(F) $130,738,217 for fiscal year 2011; 
(G) $150,348,950 for fiscal year 2012; 
(H) $172,901,292 for fiscal year 2013; 
(I) $198,836,486 for fiscal year 2014; and 
(J) $228,661,959 for fiscal year 2015. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘advanced nuclear reactor tech-
nologies’’ means— 
(A) technologies related to advanced light 
water reactors that may be commercially avail-
able in the near-term, including mid-sized reac-
tors with passive safety features, for the gen-
eration of electric power from nuclear fission 
and the production of hydrogen; and 
(B) technologies related to other nuclear 
reactors that may require prototype demonstra-
tion prior to availability in the mid-term or 
long-term, including high-temperature, gas- 
cooled reactors and liquid metal reactors, for 
the generation of electric power from nuclear 
fission and the production of hydrogen;
(2) the term ‘‘concentrating solar power de-
vices’’ means devices that concentrate the power of 
the sun by reflection or refraction to improve the ef-
ficiency of a photovoltaic or thermal generation proc-
ess; 
(3) the term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ 
has the meaning given to that term in section 
101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1001(a)); 
(4) the term ‘‘minority institution’’ has the 
meaning given to that term in section 365 of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067k); 
(5) the term ‘‘part B institution’’ has the mean-
ing given to that term in section 322 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061); 
(6) the term ‘‘photovoltaic devices’’ means de-
vices that convert light directly into electricity 
through a solid-state, semiconductor process; and 
(7) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Energy. 
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