I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5640 
To provide for the establishment at the Department of Energy of an 
Electricity Storage Basic Research Initiative. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 6, 2016 
Mr. SMITH of Texas (for himself, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. 
KNIGHT, 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 
A BILL 
To provide for the establishment at the Department of 
Energy of an Electricity Storage Basic Research Initiative. 
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 ‘‘Electricity Storage In-
novation Act’’. 
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‘‘(3) TEAMS.—The Secretary shall organize ac-
tivities under the Electricity Storage Basic Research 
Initiative to include multidisciplinary teams levera-
ging expertise from the National Laboratories, uni-
versities, and the private sector to the extent prac-
ticable. These multidisciplinary teams shall pursue 
aggressive, milestone-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 or other organizational structures. 
‘‘(b) MULTIVALENT SYSTEMS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, as 
part of the Electricity Storage Basic Research Ini-
tiative, carry out a program to support research 
needed to bridge scientific barriers and discover 
knowledge relevant to multivalent ion materials in 
electric energy storage systems. In carrying out ac-
tivities under this subsection, the Director of the Of-
fice of Basic Energy Sciences shall investigate elec-
trochemical properties and the dynamics of mate-
rials, including charge transfer phenomena and mass 
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transport in materials. The Assistant Secretary for 
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy shall sup-
port translational research, development, and valida-
tion of physical concepts developed under this sub-
section. 
‘‘(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 (e), 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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‘‘(c) ELECTROCHEMISTRY MODELING AND SIMULA-
TION.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, as 
part of the Electricity Storage Basic Research Ini-
tiative, carry out a program to support research to 
model and simulate organic electrolytes, including 
their static and dynamic electrochemical behavior 
and phenomena at the molecular and atomic level in 
monovalent and multivalent systems. In carrying out 
activities under this subsection, the Director of the 
Office of Basic Energy Sciences shall, in coordina-
tion with the Associate Director of Advanced Sci-
entific Computing Research, support the develop-
ment of high performance computational tools 
through a joint development process to maximize the 
effectiveness of current and projected high perform-
ance computing systems. 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. 
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‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION.—Subject to sub-
section (e), there are authorized for carrying 
out activities under this subsection for each of 
fiscal years 2017 through 2020— 
‘‘(i) $30,000,000 from funds within 
the Basic Energy Sciences Program and 
Advanced Scientific Computing Research 
Program accounts; and 
‘‘(ii) $15,000,000 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) MESOSCALE ELECTROCHEMISTRY.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, as 
part of the Electricity Storage Basic Research Ini-
tiative, carry out a program to support research 
needed to reveal electrochemistry in confined 
mesoscale spaces, including scientific discoveries rel-
evant to bio-electrochemistry and electrochemical en-
ergy conversion and storage in confined spaces and 
the dynamics of these phenomena. In carrying out 
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activities under this subsection, the Director of the 
Office of Basic Energy Sciences and the Associate 
Director of Biological and Environmental Research 
shall investigate phenomena of mesoscale electro-
chemical confinement for the purpose of replicating 
and controlling new electrochemical behavior. The 
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Re-
newable Energy shall support translational research, 
development, and validation of physical concepts de-
veloped 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 (e), there are authorized for carrying 
out activities under this subsection for each of 
fiscal years 2017 through 2020— 
‘‘(i) $20,000,000 from funds within 
the Basic Energy Sciences Program and 
the Biological and Environmental Research 
Program accounts; and 
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