[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5143 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5143

 To authorize the Secretary of Energy to establish monetary prizes for 
achievements in overcoming scientific and technical barriers associated 
                         with hydrogen energy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 6, 2006

Mr. Inglis of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Kingston, 
Mr. Wamp, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Boehlert, Mr. Ehlers, Mr. Bartlett of Maryland, 
Mr. Wynn, Mr. Dent, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. McCaul of Texas, Mr. 
 Brown of South Carolina, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, and Mr. Terry) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                                Science

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the Secretary of Energy to establish monetary prizes for 
achievements in overcoming scientific and technical barriers associated 
                         with hydrogen energy.

    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 ``H-Prize Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of Energy.
            (2) 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 conformity with this Act to 
advance the research, development, demonstration, and commercial 
application of hydrogen energy technologies.
    (b) Advertising and Solicitation of Competitors.--
            (1) Advertising.--The Secretary shall widely advertise 
        prize competitions to encourage broad participation, including 
        by individuals, universities, and large and small businesses.
            (2) Announcement through federal register notice.--The 
        Secretary shall announce each prize competition by publishing a 
        notice in the Federal Register. This notice shall include the 
        subject of the competition, the duration of the competition, 
        the eligibility requirements for participation in the 
        competition, 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 Secretary shall enter into 
an agreement with a private, nonprofit entity to administer the prize 
competitions, subject to the provisions of this Act.
    (d) Funding Sources.--Prizes under this Act may consist of Federal 
appropriated funds and funds provided by private entities or 
individuals for such cash prizes. The Secretary may accept funds from 
other Federal agencies for such cash prizes. The Secretary may not give 
any special consideration to any private sector entity or individual in 
return for a donation.
    (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 
writing by a private source. The Secretary may increase the amount of a 
prize after an initial announcement is made under subsection (b)(2) 
if--
            (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 a 
        private source.
    (f) Sunset.--The authority to announce prize competitions 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 related 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 exceed objective 
        performance criteria, such as completion 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 or exceed far-
        reaching objective criteria, which shall include minimal carbon 
        emissions and which may include cost criteria designed to 
        facilitate the eventual market success of a winning technology.
    (b) Awards.--
            (1) Advancements.--To the extent permitted under section 
        3(e), the prizes authorized under subsection (a)(1) shall be 
        awarded biennially to the most significant advance made in each 
        of the four subcategories described in subparagraphs (A) 
        through (D) of subsection (a)(1) since the submission deadline 
        of the previous prize competition in the same category under 
        subsection (a)(1) or the date of enactment of this Act, 
        whichever is later. No one such prize may exceed $1,000,000. If 
        less than $4,000,000 is available for a prize competition under 
        subsection (a)(1), the Secretary may omit one or more 
        subcategories, reduce the amount of the prizes, or not hold a 
        prize competition.
            (2) Prototypes.--To the extent permitted under section 
        3(e), prizes authorized under subsection (a)(2) shall be 
        awarded biennially in alternate years from the prizes 
        authorized under subsection (a)(1). The Secretary is authorized 
        to award up to one prize in this category in each 2-year 
        period. No such prize may exceed $4,000,000. If no registered 
        participants meet the objective performance criteria 
        established pursuant to subsection (c) for a competition under 
        this paragraph, the Secretary shall not award a prize.
            (3) Transformational technologies.--To the extent permitted 
        under section 3(e), the Secretary shall announce at least one 
        prize competition authorized under subsection (a)(3) as soon 
        after the date of enactment of this Act as is practicable. To 
        the extent permitted under section 3(e), the Secretary may 
        announce additional prize competitions authorized under 
        subsection (a)(3) as appropriate to accelerate the development 
        and adoption of hydrogen technologies. A prize offered under 
        this paragraph shall be in the amount of $100,000,000. The 
        Secretary may allow the winner of a prize under this paragraph 
        to receive up to $10,000,000 of the prize in a lump sum as 
        cash. Any portion of the prize not received as a lump sum in 
        cash shall be paid to the winner as a Federal match for each 
        dollar of private funding raised by the winner for the hydrogen 
        technology beginning on the date the winner was named. The 
        match shall be provided for 3 years after the date the prize 
        winner is named or until the full amount of the prize has been 
        paid out, whichever occurs first. A prize winner may elect to 
        have the Federal match amount paid to another entity that is 
        continuing the development of the winning technology. The 
        Secretary shall announce how much of a prize will be available 
        as a lump sum and the rules for receiving the Federal match in 
        the notice required by section 3(b)(2). The Secretary shall 
        award a prize under this paragraph only when a registered 
        participant has met the objective criteria established for the 
        prize pursuant to subsection (c) and announced pursuant to 
        section 3(b)(2).
    (c) Criteria.--In establishing the criteria required by this Act, 
the Secretary shall consult with--
            (1) the Department's Hydrogen Technical and Fuel Cell 
        Advisory Committee;
            (2) other Federal agencies, including the National Science 
        Foundation; and
            (3) private organizations, including professional 
        societies, industry associations, and the National Academy of 
        Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.
    (d) Judges.--For each prize competition, the Secretary, through an 
agreement under section 3(c), shall assemble a panel of qualified 
judges to select the winner or winners on the basis of the criteria 
established under subsection (c). Judges for each prize competition 
shall include individuals from outside the Department, including from 
the private sector. A judge may not--
            (1) have personal or financial interests in, or be an 
        employee, officer, director, or agent of, any entity that is a 
        registered participant in the prize competition for which he or 
        she will serve as a judge; or
            (2) have a familial or financial relationship with an 
        individual who is a registered participant in the prize 
        competition for which he or she will serve as a judge.

SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY.

    To be eligible to win a prize under this Act, an individual or 
entity--
            (1) shall have complied with all the requirements in 
        accordance with the Federal Register notice required under 
        section 3(b)(2);
            (2) in the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated 
        in and maintain a primary place of business in the United 
        States, and in the case of an individual, whether participating 
        singly or in a group, shall be a citizen of, or an alien 
        lawfully admitted for permanent residence in, the United 
        States; and
            (3) shall not be a Federal entity, a Federal employee 
        acting within the scope of his employment, or an employee of a 
        national laboratory acting within the scope of his employment.

SEC. 6. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.

    The Federal Government shall not, by virtue of offering or awarding 
a prize under this Act, be entitled to any intellectual property rights 
derived as a consequence of, or direct relation to, the participation 
by a registered participant in a competition authorized by this Act. 
This section shall not be construed to prevent the Federal Government 
from negotiating a license for the use of intellectual property 
developed for a prize competition under this Act.

SEC. 7. LIABILITY.

    (a) Waiver of Liability.--Registered participants shall be required 
to agree to assume any and all risks, and waive claims against the 
Federal Government and its related entities, except in the case of 
willful misconduct, for, any injury, death, damage, or loss of 
property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or 
consequential, arising from their participation in a competition under 
this Act, whether such injury, death, damage, or loss arises through 
negligence or otherwise. For the purposes of this subsection, the term 
``related entity'' means a contractor or subcontractor at any tier, and 
a supplier, user, customer, cooperating party, grantee, investigator, 
or detailee.
    (b) Liability Insurance.--
            (1) Requirements.--Participants shall be required to obtain 
        liability insurance or demonstrate financial responsibility, in 
        amounts determined by the Secretary, for claims by--
                    (A) a third party for death, bodily injury, or 
                property damage or loss resulting from an activity 
                carried out in connection with participation in a 
                competition under this Act; and
                    (B) the Federal Government for damage or loss to 
                Government property resulting from such an activity.
            (2) Federal government insured.--The Federal Government 
        shall be named as an additional insured under a registered 
        participant's insurance policy required under paragraph (1)(A), 
        and registered participants shall be required to agree to 
        indemnify the Federal Government against third party claims for 
        damages arising from or related to competition activities.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary for carrying out this Act $55,000,000 for 
each of the fiscal years 2007 through 2016, of which no more than 
$1,000,000 for any fiscal year may be used for administrative expenses.
    (b) Carryover of Funds.--Funds appropriated pursuant to this Act 
shall remain available until expended.

SEC. 9. NONSUBSTITUTION.

    The programs created under this Act shall not be considered a 
substitute for Federal research and development programs.
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