[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8297 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8297

  To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish and support advanced 
  recycling research and development programs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 17, 2020

    Mr. Gonzalez of Ohio (for himself, Mr. Lucas, and Mr. Marshall) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                     Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish and support advanced 
  recycling research and development 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Advanced Recycling 
Research and Development Act of 2020''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Optimized plastics recycling research and development program.
Sec. 4. Lithium-ion battery recycling research and development program.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of Energy.
            (2) National laboratory.--The term ``National Laboratory'' 
        has the meaning given that term in section 2 of the Energy 
        Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801).
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.
            (4) Recyclable plastic.--The term ``recyclable plastic'' 
        means plastic that is designed to be readily, economically, and 
        efficiently recyclable or otherwise recoverable for beneficial 
        use.
            (5) Critical material.--The term ``critical material'' 
        means material that serves an essential function in the 
        manufacturing of a product and has a high risk of a supply 
        disruption, such that a shortage of such material would have 
        significant consequences for the economic or national security 
        of the United States.
            (6) Composite.--The term ``composite'' means plastic 
        reinforced with fiber or particulate secondary material like 
        bio-derived fibers, carbon fibers, glass or any other solid 
        material.

SEC. 3. OPTIMIZED PLASTICS RECYCLING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out a research, 
development, and demonstration program to accelerate innovation in 
energy-efficient recyclable plastics, next-generation plastics, and 
composites recycling and upcycling strategies and technologies, in 
order to increase the economic value of plastics supply streams and to 
reduce the environmental impact of global plastics consumption.
    (b) Execution.--In carrying out the program under this section, the 
Secretary shall--
            (1) develop novel collection and sorting technologies to 
        prevent plastics and composites, including waterborne plastics, 
        from entering landfills and the marine environment;
            (2) develop biological, chemical, and hybrid bio-chemical 
        technologies and methods for deconstructing plastic and 
        composite waste, including environmental waste, into useful 
        chemical and material streams;
            (3) develop technologies to upcycle waste, including 
        chemical, material, and gaseous streams, into higher-value 
        products;
            (4) develop new economically recyclable-by-design plastics 
        and composites that can be scaled for domestic 
        manufacturability and recovery;
            (5) develop new energy-efficient advanced manufacturing 
        techniques for reclaimed plastics and composites; and
            (6) develop new data collection methods and practices in 
        collaboration with relevant Federal agencies.
    (c) Leveraging.--In carrying out the program under this section, 
the Secretary shall leverage resources and expertise from--
            (1) the Basic Energy Sciences Program and the Biological 
        and Environmental Research Program of the Office of Science; 
        and
            (2) the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
    (d) Standard of Review.--The Secretary shall periodically review 
activities carried out under the program under this section to 
determine the achievement of technical milestones as determined by the 
Secretary.
    (e) Funding.--
            (1) In general.--From within funds authorized to be 
        appropriated--
                    (A) to the Department's Office of Science, there 
                shall be made available to the Secretary to carry out 
                the program under this section $15,000,000 for each of 
                fiscal years 2021 through 2025; and
                    (B) to the Department's Office of Energy Efficiency 
                and Renewable Energy, there shall be made available to 
                the Secretary to carry out the program under this 
                section $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 
                through 2025.
            (2) Prohibition.--In carrying out the program under this 
        section, the Secretary shall not use funds made available under 
        paragraph (1) for commercial application of energy technology.

SEC. 4. LITHIUM-ION BATTERY RECYCLING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out a research, 
development, and demonstration program to support the development of--
            (1) advanced materials for batteries with considerations 
        given to resource availability and environmentally benign 
        disposal and recycling; and
            (2) innovative technologies to reclaim and recycle critical 
        materials from advanced and lithium-ion based battery 
        technologies used in consumer electronics, defense, stationary 
        storage, and transportation applications.
    (b) Execution.--In carrying out the program under this section, the 
Secretary shall--
            (1) promote the discovery of new domestically sourced raw 
        materials for batteries that can degrade without causing damage 
        to the environment;
            (2) develop innovative and cost-effective technologies and 
        processes for the collection, storage, and transportation of 
        discarded lithium-ion batteries that use domestic mining 
        resources and increase availability of domestically sourced raw 
        materials for batteries; and
            (3) develop cost-effective recycling processes to recover 
        critical materials from discarded lithium-ion batteries and 
        enable their reintroduction in new lithium-ion cell 
        technologies and for use in other relevant industries.
    (c) Leveraging.--In carrying out the program under this section, 
the Secretary shall leverage resources and expertise from--
            (1) the Basic Energy Sciences Program of the Office of 
        Science;
            (2) the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 
        including current lithium-ion battery recycling activities 
        supported by the Vehicle Technologies Office within the Office 
        of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; and
            (3) the Office of Technology Transitions.
    (d) Standard of Review.--The Secretary shall periodically review 
activities carried out under the program under this section to 
determine the achievement of technical milestones as determined by the 
Secretary.
    (e) Funding.--
            (1) In general.--From within funds authorized to be 
        appropriated--
                    (A) to the Department's Office of Science, there 
                shall be made available to the Secretary to carry out 
                the activities under this section $10,000,000 for each 
                of fiscal years 2021 through 2025; and
                    (B) to the Department's Office of Energy Efficiency 
                and Renewable Energy, there shall be made available to 
                the Secretary to carry out the activities under this 
                section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 
                through 2025.
            (2) Prohibition.--In carrying out the program under this 
        section, the Secretary shall not use funds made available under 
        paragraph (1) for commercial application of energy technology.
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