1.This Act may be cited as
the American Automobile Industry
Promotion Act of 2007
.
2.Advanced energy
initiative for vehicles
(a)The
purposes of this section are—
(1)to enable and
promote, in partnership with industry, comprehensive development,
demonstration, and commercialization of a wide range of electric drive
components, systems, and vehicles using diverse electric drive transportation
technologies;
(2)to make critical
public investments to help private industry, institutions of higher education,
National Laboratories, and research institutions to expand innovation,
industrial growth, and jobs in the United States;
(3)to expand the
availability of the existing electric infrastructure for fueling light duty
transportation and other on-road and nonroad vehicles that are using petroleum
and are mobile sources of emissions—
(A)including the
more than 3,000,000 reported units (such as electric forklifts, golf carts, and
similar nonroad vehicles) in use on the date of enactment of this Act;
and
(B)with the goal of
enhancing the energy security of the United States, reduce dependence on
imported oil, and reduce emissions through the expansion of grid-supported
mobility;
(4)to accelerate the
widespread commercialization of all types of electric drive vehicle technology
into all sizes and applications of vehicles, including commercialization of
plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid fuel cell vehicles;
and
(5)to improve the
energy efficiency of and reduce the petroleum use in transportation.
(b)In
this section:
(1)The
term battery means an energy storage device used in an on-road or
nonroad vehicle powered in whole or in part using an off-board or on-board
source of electricity.
(2)Electric drive
transportation technologyThe term electric drive
transportation technology means—
(A)a vehicle
that—
(i)uses an electric
motor for all or part of the motive power of the vehicle; and
(ii)may use
off-board electricity, including battery electric vehicles, fuel cell vehicles,
engine dominant hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles,
plug-in hybrid fuel cell vehicles, and electric rail; or
(B)equipment
relating to transportation or mobile sources of air pollution that uses an
electric motor to replace an internal combustion engine for all or part of the
work of the equipment, including corded electric equipment linked to
transportation or mobile sources of air pollution.
(3)Engine dominant
hybrid electric vehicleThe term engine dominant hybrid
electric vehicle means an on-road or nonroad vehicle that—
(A)is propelled by
an internal combustion engine or heat engine using—
(i)any
combustible fuel; and
(ii)an
on-board, rechargeable storage device; and
(B)has no means of
using an off-board source of electricity.
(4)The term fuel cell vehicle means an on-road
or nonroad vehicle that uses a fuel cell (as defined in section 803 of the
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16152)).
(5)The
term Initiative means the Advanced Battery Initiative established
by the Secretary under subsection (f)(1).
(6)The term nonroad vehicle has the meaning
given the term in section 216 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7550).
(7)Plug-in hybrid
electric vehicleThe term plug-in hybrid electric
vehicle means an on-road or nonroad vehicle that is propelled by an
internal combustion engine or heat engine using—
(A)any combustible
fuel;
(B)an on-board,
rechargeable storage device; and
(C)a means of using
an off-board source of electricity.
(8)Plug-in hybrid
fuel cell vehicleThe term plug-in hybrid fuel cell
vehicle means an onroad or nonroad vehicle that is propelled by a fuel
cell using—
(A)any compatible
fuel;
(B)an on-board,
rechargeable storage device; and
(C)a means of using
an off-board source of electricity.
(9)The term Industry Alliance means the entity
selected by the Secretary under subsection (f)(2).
(10)Institution of
higher educationThe term institution of higher
education has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801).
(11)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Energy.
(c)The
goals of the electric drive transportation technology program established under
subsection (e) shall be to develop, in partnership with industry and
institutions of higher education, projects that focus on—
(1)innovative
electric drive technology developed in the United States;
(2)growth of
employment in the United States in electric drive design and
manufacturing;
(3)validation of the
plug-in hybrid potential through fleet demonstrations; and
(4)acceleration of
fuel cell commercialization through comprehensive development and
commercialization of battery technology systems independent of fundamental fuel
cell vehicle technology development.
(d)Not
later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary
shall offer to enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of
Sciences—
(1)to conduct an
assessment (in cooperation with industry, standards development organizations,
and other entities, as appropriate), of state-of-the-art battery technologies
with potential application for electric drive transportation;
(2)to identify
knowledge gaps in the scientific and technological bases of battery manufacture
and use;
(3)to identify
fundamental research areas that would likely have a significant impact on the
development of superior battery technologies for electric drive vehicle
applications; and
(4)to recommend
steps to the Secretary to accelerate the development of battery technologies
for electric drive transportation.
(e)The
Secretary shall conduct a program of research, development, demonstration, and
commercial application for electric drive transportation technology,
including—
(1)high-capacity,
high-efficiency batteries;
(2)high-efficiency
on-board and off-board charging components;
(3)high-powered
drive train systems for passenger and commercial vehicles and for nonroad
equipment;
(4)control system
development and power train development and integration for plug-in hybrid
electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid fuel cell vehicles, and engine dominant
hybrid electric vehicles, including—
(A)development of
efficient cooling systems;
(B)analysis and
development of control systems that minimize the emissions profile when clean
diesel engines are part of a plug-in hybrid drive system; and
(C)development of
different control systems that optimize for different goals, including—
(i)battery
life;
(ii)reduction of
petroleum consumption; and
(iii)green house gas
reduction;
(5)nanomaterial
technology applied to both battery and fuel cell systems;
(6)large-scale
demonstrations, testing, and evaluation of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in
different applications with different batteries and control systems,
including—
(A)military
applications;
(B)mass market
passenger and light-duty truck applications;
(C)private fleet
applications; and
(D)medium- and
heavy-duty applications;
(7)a nationwide
education strategy for electric drive transportation technologies providing
secondary and high school teaching materials and support for education offered
by institutions of higher education that is focused on electric drive system
and component engineering;
(8)development, in
consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, of
procedures for testing and certification of criteria pollutants, fuel economy,
and petroleum use for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicle applications,
including consideration of—
(A)the vehicle and
fuel as a system, not just an engine; and
(B)nightly off-board
charging; and
(9)advancement of
battery and corded electric transportation technologies in mobile source
applications by—
(A)improvement in
battery, drive train, and control system technologies; and
(B)working with
industry and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency—
(i)to
understand and inventory markets; and
(ii)to
identify and implement methods of removing barriers for existing and emerging
applications.
(f)Advanced
battery initiative
(1)The Secretary shall
establish and carry out an Advanced Battery Initiative in accordance with this
subsection to support research, development, demonstration, and commercial
application of battery technologies.
(2)Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall competitively select an Industry Alliance to
represent participants who are private, for-profit firms headquartered in the
United States, the primary business of which is the manufacturing of
batteries.
(3)
(A)The
Secretary shall carry out research activities of the Initiative through
competitively-awarded grants to—
(i)researchers,
including Industry Alliance participants;
(ii)small
businesses;
(iii)National
Laboratories; and
(iv)institutions of
higher education.
(B)The Secretary shall annually solicit from the Industry
Alliance—
(i)comments to
identify advanced battery technology needs relevant to electric drive
technology;
(ii)an
assessment of the progress of research activities of the Initiative; and
(iii)assistance in
annually updating advanced battery technology roadmaps.
(4)Availability to
the publicThe information and roadmaps developed under this
subsection shall be available to the public.
(5)In
making awards under this subsection, the Secretary shall give preference to
participants in the Industry Alliance.
(g)In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall require
cost sharing in accordance with section 988 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005
(42 U.S.C. 16352).
(h)Authorization
of appropriationsThere is authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this section $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through
2012.
3.Availability of
new advanced lean burn technology motor vehicle credit for high-efficiency
diesel motor vehicles
(a)Section 30B(c)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
(defining new advanced lean burn technology motor vehicle credit) is
amended—
(1)by adding
and
at the end of clause (ii), and
(2)by striking
clause (iv).
(b)The amendments made by this section shall apply to property
purchased after the date of the enactment of this Act.
4.Section 211 of the
Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545) is amended—
(1)by redesignating
the first subsection (r) (relating to the definition of the term
manufacturer
) as subsection (t) and moving the subsection so as
to appear after subsection (s); and
(2)by inserting
after subsection (o) the following:
(p)
(1)In
this subsection:
(A)
(i)The term biodiesel means the monoalkyl
esters of long chain fatty acids derived from plant or animal matter that
meet—
(I)the registration
requirements for fuels and fuel additives established by the Environmental
Protection Agency under section 211 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545);
and
(II)the requirements
of the American Society of Testing and Materials D6751.
(ii)The
term biodiesel includes esters described in subparagraph (A)
derived from—
(I)animal waste,
including poultry fat, poultry waste, and other waste material; and
(II)municipal solid
waste, sludge, and oil derived from wastewater or the treatment of
wastewater.
(B)
(i)The term biodiesel blend means a mixture of
biodiesel and diesel fuel (as defined in section 4083(a) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986).
(ii)The
term biodiesel blend includes—
(I)a blend of
biodiesel and diesel fuel approximately 5 percent of the content of which is
biodiesel (commonly known as B5
); and
(II)a blend of
biodiesel and diesel fuel approximately 20 percent of the content of which is
biodiesel (commonly known as B20
).
(2)Not
later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the
American Automobile Industry Promotion Act of
2007, the Administrator shall promulgate regulations to establish
standards for each biodiesel blend that is sold or introduced into commerce in
the United
States.
.