IIB 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5143 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
MAY 11, 2006 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources 
AN ACT 
To authorize the Secretary of Energy to establish monetary 
prizes for achievements in overcoming scientific and tech-
nical barriers associated with hydrogen energy. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
01:41 May 12, 2006
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5143.RFS
H5143
jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
HR 5143 RFS 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘H-Prize Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADMINISTERING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘ad-
ministering entity’’ means the entity with which the 
Secretary enters into an agreement under section 
3(c). 
(2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 
means the Department of Energy. 
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Energy. 
SEC. 3. PRIZE AUTHORITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 
program to competitively award cash prizes only in con-
formity with this Act to advance the research, develop-
ment, demonstration, and commercial application of hy-
drogen energy technologies. 
(b) ADVERTISING AND SOLICITATION OF COMPETI-
TORS.— 
(1) ADVERTISING.—The Secretary shall widely 
advertise prize competitions to encourage broad par-
ticipation, including by individuals, universities (in-
cluding historically Black colleges and universities 
and other minority serving institutions), and large 
and small businesses (including businesses owned or 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
01:41 May 12, 2006
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5143.RFS
H5143
jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
HR 5143 RFS 
controlled by socially and economically disadvan-
taged persons). 
(2) ANNOUNCEMENT THROUGH FEDERAL REG-
ISTER NOTICE.—The Secretary shall announce each 
prize competition by publishing a notice in the Fed-
eral Register. This notice shall include the subject of 
the competition, the duration of the competition, the 
eligibility requirements for participation in the com-
petition, the process for participants to register for 
the competition, the amount of the prize, and the 
criteria for awarding the prize. 
(c) ADMINISTERING THE COMPETITIONS.—The Sec-
retary shall enter into an agreement with a private, non-
profit entity to administer the prize competitions, subject 
to the provisions of this Act. The duties of the admin-
istering entity under the agreement shall include— 
(1) advertising prize competitions and their re-
sults; 
(2) raising funds from private entities and indi-
viduals to pay for administrative costs and to con-
tribute to cash prizes; 
(3) working with the Secretary to develop the 
criteria for selecting winners in prize competitions, 
based on goals provided by the Secretary; 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
01:41 May 12, 2006
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5143.RFS
H5143
jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
HR 5143 RFS 
(4) determining, in consultation with the Sec-
retary, the appropriate amount for each prize to be 
awarded; 
(5) selecting judges in accordance with section 
4(d), using criteria developed in consultation with 
the Secretary; and 
(6) preventing the unauthorized use or disclo-
sure of a registered participant’s intellectual prop-
erty, trade secrets, and confidential business infor-
mation. 
(d) FUNDING SOURCES.—Prizes under this Act shall 
consist of Federal appropriated funds and any funds pro-
vided by the administering entity (including funds raised 
pursuant to subsection (c)(2)) for such cash prizes. The 
Secretary may accept funds from other Federal agencies 
for such cash prizes. The Secretary may not give any spe-
cial consideration to any private sector entity or individual 
in return for a donation to the administering entity. 
(e) ANNOUNCEMENT
OF PRIZES.—The Secretary 
may not issue a notice required by subsection (b)(2) until 
all the funds needed to pay out the announced amount 
of the prize have been appropriated or committed in writ-
ing by the administering entity. The Secretary may in-
crease the amount of a prize after an initial announcement 
is made under subsection (b)(2) if— 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
01:41 May 12, 2006
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5143.RFS
H5143
jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
HR 5143 RFS 
(1) notice of the increase is provided in the 
same manner as the initial notice of the prize; and 
(2) the funds needed to pay out the announced 
amount of the increase have been appropriated or 
committed in writing by the administering entity. 
(f) SUNSET.—The authority to announce prize com-
petitions under this Act shall terminate on September 30, 
2017. 
SEC. 4. PRIZE CATEGORIES. 
(a) CATEGORIES.—The Secretary shall establish 
prizes for— 
(1) advancements in components or systems re-
lated to— 
(A) hydrogen production; 
(B) hydrogen storage; 
(C) hydrogen distribution; and 
(D) hydrogen utilization; 
(2) prototypes of hydrogen-powered vehicles or 
other hydrogen-based products that best meet or ex-
ceed objective performance criteria, such as comple-
tion of a race over a certain distance or terrain or 
generation of energy at certain levels of efficiency; 
and 
(3) transformational changes in technologies for 
the distribution or production of hydrogen that meet 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
01:41 May 12, 2006
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5143.RFS
H5143
jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS