IB 
Union Calendar No. 528 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5638 
[Report No. 114–680] 
To provide for the establishment at the Department of Energy of a Solar 
Fuels Basic Research Initiative. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 6, 2016 
Mr. KNIGHT (for himself, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. WEBER 
of Texas, Mr. NEUGEBAUER, Mr. HULTGREN, Mr. POSEY, Mr. 
MOOLENAAR, and Mr. BABIN) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
JULY 11, 2016 
Reported with an amendment, 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 July 6, 2016] 
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A BILL 
To provide for the establishment at the Department of 
Energy of a Solar Fuels Basic Research Initiative. 
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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 ‘‘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 fol-
lows: 
‘‘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 theoretical 
and fundamental knowledge of photochemistry, elec-
trochemistry, biochemistry, and materials science use-
ful for the practical development of experimental sys-
tems to convert solar energy to chemical energy. 
‘‘(2) LEVERAGING.—The Secretary shall leverage 
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). 
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‘‘(3) TEAMS.—The Secretary shall organize ac-
tivities under the Solar Fuels Basic Research Initia-
tive to include multidisciplinary teams leveraging ex-
pertise from the National Laboratories, universities, 
and the private sector to the extent practicable. These 
multidisciplinary teams shall pursue aggressive, mile-
stone-driven basic research goals. The Secretary 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 organizational 
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 relevant to 
artificial photosynthetic systems. In carrying out ac-
tivities under this subsection, the Director of the Of-
fice of Basic Energy Sciences shall support basic re-
search to pursue distinct lines of scientific inquiry, 
including photoinduced production of hydrogen and 
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oxygen from water, and the sustainable photoinduced 
reduction of carbon dioxide to fuel products including 
hydrocarbons, alcohols, carbon monoxide, and natural 
gas. The Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency 
and Renewable Energy shall support translational re-
search, development, and validation of physical con-
cepts 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 account; 
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-
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pended for commercial application of energy 
technology. 
‘‘(c) BIOCHEMISTRY, REPLICATION OF NATURAL PHO-
TOSYNTHESIS, AND RELATED PROCESSES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, as part 
of the Solar Fuels Basic Research Initiative, carry 
out a program to support research needed to replicate 
natural photosynthetic processes by use of artificial 
photosynthetic components and materials. In carrying 
out activities under this subsection, the Director of the 
Office of Basic Energy Sciences shall support basic 
research to expand fundamental knowledge to rep-
licate natural synthesis processes, including the 
photoinduced reduction of dinitrogen to ammonia, ab-
sorption of carbon dioxide from ambient air, molec-
ular-based 
charge 
separation 
and 
storage, 
photoinitiated electron transfer, and catalysis in bio-
logical or biomimetic systems. The Associate Director 
of Biological and Environmental Research shall sup-
port systems biology and genomics approaches to un-
derstand genetic and physiological pathways con-
nected to photosynthetic mechanisms. The Assistant 
Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable En-
ergy shall support translational research, develop-
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ment, and validation 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 and Bio-
logical and Environmental Research Pro-
gram accounts; 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. 
‘‘(d) FUNDING.—No additional funds are authorized to 
be appropriated under this section. This section shall be 
carried out using funds otherwise authorized by law.’’. 
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(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The item re-
lating to section 973 in the table of contents of such Act 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘Sec. 973. Solar Fuels Basic Research Initiative.’’. 
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Union Calendar No. 528 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5638 
[Report No. 114–680] 
A BILL 
To provide for the establishment at the Department 
of Energy of a Solar Fuels Basic Research Ini-
tiative. 
JULY 11, 2016 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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