Smart Manufacturing Leadership Act of 2021
Bill: S.3120 | Sponsor: Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne (D-NH)
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Smart Manufacturing Leadership Act of 2021
This bill addresses the productivity and energy efficiency of the manufacturing sector as well as the development of smart manufacturing technologies (certain advanced technologies in information, automation, monitoring, computation, sensing, modeling, and networking).
Specifically, the Department of Energy (DOE) may make grants to states for supporting the implementation of smart manufacturing technologies. States must use those grants to (1) provide access to shared supercomputing facilities to small- and medium-sized manufacturers, (2) fund research and development of transformational manufacturing processes and materials technology that advance smart manufacturing, and (3) provide tools and training to aid the adoption of energy management systems and implement smart manufacturing technologies in the manufacturers' facilities.
In addition, DOE must expand the scope of technologies covered by its Industrial Assessment Centers to (1) include smart manufacturing technologies and practices, and (2) equip the centers' directors with the training and tools necessary to provide technical assistance in smart manufacturing technologies and practices.
DOE must also (1) study how it can increase access to existing high-performance computing resources in its National Laboratories, and (2) facilitate access to the laboratories by small- and medium-sized manufacturers.

To improve the productivity and energy efficiency of the manufacturing 
 sector by directing the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the 
 National Academies and other appropriate Federal agencies, to provide 
  assistance to small and medium manufacturers in implementing smart 
            manufacturing programs, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Smart Manufacturing Leadership Act 
of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the industrial sector--
                    (A) represents approximately 20 percent of the 
                economy of the United States;
                    (B) provides approximately 13 percent of employment 
                in the United States; and
                    (C) accounts for more than 30,000,000,000,000,000 
                Btus of energy, a quantity that is equal to almost \1/
                3\ of the energy consumption of the United States;
            (2) smart manufacturing is set to transform the 
        manufacturing sector and the use by the manufacturing sector of 
        energy, water, raw materials, and labor over the 10 years 
        following the date of enactment of this Act;
            (3) the transformation described in paragraph (2) will 
        result in savings in electricity, natural gas, transportation 
        fuels, chemical feedstocks, and many other fuels;
            (4) the interconnection of the many components of 
        manufacturing within a manufacturing plant with other business 
        functions within a company and across companies within a supply 
        chain will enable new production efficiencies;
            (5) the improvements in automation described in paragraph 
        (4) are estimated to produce between $5,000,000,000 and 
        $25,000,000,000 in energy savings per year across the 
        manufacturing sector for electricity alone by 2035;
            (6) smart manufacturing technologies are estimated to add 
        between $10,000,000,000,000 and $15,000,000,000,000 to the 
        global gross domestic product over 20 years following the date 
        of enactment of this Act;
            (7) market barriers exist to the widespread adoption of 
        smart manufacturing practices by all sizes of firms and to the 
        investment in smart manufacturing technologies, including lack 
        of--
                    (A) common communication protocols between smart 
                manufacturing devices, which prevents interoperability, 
                reduces system efficiencies, and stifles innovation;
                    (B) common standards for storing and sharing 
                information relating to energy consumption and energy 
                savings;
                    (C) an open-access smart manufacturing platform 
                that enables the networking of business and automation 
                systems of multiple vendors; and
                    (D) common cybersecurity protocols and standards;
            (8) addressing the barriers described in paragraph (7) is 
        in the interest of the United States;
            (9) in response to the barriers described in paragraph (7), 
        the Secretary is working with the private sector to reduce the 
        market barriers through the development of voluntary protocols 
        and standards;
            (10) there exist many technologies of which many domestic 
        manufacturers are unaware that could--
                    (A) improve the competitiveness of the domestic 
                manufacturers; and
                    (B) reduce the environmental impacts of the 
                domestic manufacturers;
            (11) Federal agency action can facilitate greater economic 
        growth through outreach and engagement in the smart 
        manufacturing technology area; and
            (12) the United States would benefit from a concerted and 
        focused effort to advance the adoption of smart manufacturing 
        throughout the manufacturing sector of the United States.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Energy management system.--The term ``energy management 
        system'' means a business management process based on standards 
        of the American National Standards Institute that enables an 
        organization to follow a systematic approach in achieving 
        continual improvement of energy performance, including energy 
        efficiency, security, use, and consumption.
            (2) Industrial assessment center.--The term ``Industrial 
        Assessment Center'' means a center located at an institution of 
        higher education that--
                    (A) receives funding from the Department of Energy;
                    (B) provides an in-depth assessment of small and 
                medium manufacturer plant sites to evaluate the 
                facilities, services, and manufacturing operations of 
                the plant site; and
                    (C) identifies opportunities for potential savings 
                for small- and medium-size manufacturer plant sites 
                from energy efficiency improvements, waste 
                minimization, pollution prevention, and productivity 
                improvement.
            (3) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1001(a)).
            (4) National laboratory.--The term ``National Laboratory'' 
        has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Energy 
        Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801).
            (5) North american industry classification system.--The 
        term ``North American Industry Classification System'' means 
        the standard used by Federal statistical agencies in 
        classifying business establishments for the purpose of 
        collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data relating 
        to the business economy of the United States.
            (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.
            (7) Small and medium manufacturer.--The term ``small and 
        medium manufacturer'' means a manufacturing firm--
                    (A) classified in the North American Industry 
                Classification System as any of sectors 31 through 33;
                    (B) with gross annual sales of less than 
                $100,000,000;
                    (C) with fewer than 500 employees at the plant 
                site; and
                    (D) with annual energy bills totaling more than 
                $100,000 and less than $2,500,000.
            (8) Smart manufacturing.--The term ``smart manufacturing'' 
        means advanced technologies in information, automation, 
        monitoring, computation, sensing, modeling, and networking 
        that--
                    (A) digitally--
                            (i) simulate manufacturing production 
                        lines;
                            (ii) operate computer-controlled 
                        manufacturing equipment;
                            (iii) monitor and communicate production 
                        line status; and
                            (iv) manage and optimize energy 
                        productivity and cost throughout production;
                    (B) model, simulate, and optimize the energy 
                efficiency of a factory building;
                    (C) monitor and optimize building energy 
                performance;
                    (D) model, simulate, and optimize the design of 
                energy efficient and sustainable products, including 
                the use of digital prototyping and additive 
                manufacturing to enhance product design;
                    (E) connect manufactured products in networks to 
                monitor and optimize the performance of the networks, 
                including automated network operations; and
                    (F) digitally connect the supply chain network.

SEC. 4. LEVERAGING EXISTING AGENCY PROGRAMS TO ASSIST SMALL AND MEDIUM 
              MANUFACTURERS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the Department of Energy has existing technical 
        assistance programs that facilitate greater economic growth 
        through outreach to and engagement with small and medium 
        manufacturers;
            (2) those technical assistance programs represent an 
        important conduit for increasing the awareness of and providing 
        education to small and medium manufacturers regarding the 
        opportunities for implementing smart manufacturing; and
            (3) those technical assistance programs help facilitate the 
        implementation of best practices.
    (b) Expansion of Technical Assistance Programs.--The Secretary 
shall expand the scope of technologies covered by the Industrial 
Assessment Centers of the Department of Energy--
            (1) to include smart manufacturing technologies and 
        practices; and
            (2) to equip the directors of the Industrial Assessment 
        Centers with the training and tools necessary to provide 
        technical assistance in smart manufacturing technologies and 
        practices, including energy management systems, to 
        manufacturers.
    (c) Funding.--The Secretary shall use unobligated funds of the 
Department of Energy to carry out this section.

SEC. 5. LEVERAGING SMART MANUFACTURING INFRASTRUCTURE AT NATIONAL 
              LABORATORIES.

    (a) Study.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct a study on 
        how the Department of Energy can increase access to existing 
        high-performance computing resources in the National 
        Laboratories, particularly for small and medium manufacturers.
            (2) Inclusions.--In identifying ways to increase access to 
        National Laboratories under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
        shall--
                    (A) focus on increasing access to the computing 
                facilities of the National Laboratories; and
                    (B) ensure that--
                            (i) the information from the manufacturer 
                        is protected; and
                            (ii) the security of the National 
                        Laboratory facility is maintained.
            (3) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
        report describing the results of the study.
    (b) Actions for Increased Access.--The Secretary shall facilitate 
access to the National Laboratories studied under subsection (a) for 
small and medium manufacturers so that small and medium manufacturers 
can fully use the high-performance computing resources of the National 
Laboratories to enhance the manufacturing competitiveness of the United 
States.

SEC. 6. STATE LEADERSHIP GRANTS.

    (a) Finding.--Congress finds that the States--
            (1) are committed to promoting domestic manufacturing and 
        supporting robust economic development activities; and
            (2) are uniquely positioned to assist manufacturers, 
        particularly small and medium manufacturers, with deployment of 
        smart manufacturing through the provision of infrastructure, 
        including--
                    (A) access to shared supercomputing facilities;
                    (B) assistance in developing process simulations; 
                and
                    (C) conducting demonstrations of the benefits of 
                smart manufacturing.
    (b) Grants Authorized.--The Secretary may make grants on a 
competitive basis to States for establishing State programs to be used 
as models for supporting the implementation of smart manufacturing 
technologies.
    (c) Application.--
            (1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        this section, a State shall submit to the Secretary an 
        application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
        information as the Secretary may require.
            (2) Criteria.--The Secretary shall evaluate an application 
        for a grant under this section on the basis of merit using 
        criteria identified by the Secretary, including--
                    (A) the breadth of academic and private sector 
                partners;
                    (B) alternate sources of funding;
                    (C) plans for dissemination of results; and
                    (D) the permanence of the infrastructure to be put 
                in place by the project.
    (d) Requirements.--
            (1) Term.--The term of a grant under this section shall not 
        exceed 3 years.
            (2) Maximum amount.--The amount of a grant under this 
        section shall be not more than $3,000,000.
            (3) Matching requirement.--Each State that receives a grant 
        under this section shall contribute matching funds in an amount 
        equal to not less than 30 percent of the amount of the grant.
    (e) Use of Funds.--
            (1) In general.--A State shall use a grant provided under 
        this section--
                    (A) to provide access to shared supercomputing 
                facilities to small and medium manufacturers;
                    (B) to fund research and development of 
                transformational manufacturing processes and materials 
                technology that advance smart manufacturing; and
                    (C) to provide tools and training to small and 
                medium manufacturers on how to adopt energy management 
                systems and implement smart manufacturing technologies 
                in the facilities of the small and medium 
                manufacturers.
    (f) Evaluation.--The Secretary shall conduct biannual evaluations 
of each grant made under this section--
            (1) to determine the impact and effectiveness of programs 
        funded with the grant; and
            (2) to provide guidance to States on ways to better execute 
        the program of the State.
    (g) Funding.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2022 through 2025.

SEC. 7. REPORT.

    The Secretary annually shall submit to Congress and make publicly 
available a report on the progress made in advancing smart 
manufacturing in the United States.
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