[House Report 114-681]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
114th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 114-681
======================================================================
ELECTRICITY STORAGE INNOVATION ACT
_______
July 11, 2016.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Smith of Texas, from the Committee on Science, Space, and
Technology, submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 5640]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, to whom
was referred the bill (H.R. 5640) to provide for the
establishment at the Department of Energy of an Electricity
Storage Basic Research Initiative, having considered the same,
report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that
the bill as amended do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Committee Statement and Views.................................... 3
Section-by-Section............................................... 5
Explanation of Amendments........................................ 5
Committee Consideration.......................................... 5
Application of Law to the Legislative Branch..................... 5
Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the
Committee...................................................... 5
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 5
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 6
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings.............................. 6
Federal Advisory Committee Act................................... 6
Unfunded Mandate Statement....................................... 6
Earmark Identification........................................... 6
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................ 6
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 6
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill as Reported............. 6
Additional Views................................................. 10
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Electricity Storage Innovation Act''.
SEC. 2. ELECTRICITY STORAGE BASIC RESEARCH INITIATIVE.
(a) Amendment.--Section 975 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42
U.S.C. 16315) is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 975. ELECTRICITY STORAGE BASIC RESEARCH INITIATIVE.
``(a) Initiative.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out a research
initiative, to be known as the Electricity Storage Basic
Research Initiative, to expand theoretical and fundamental
knowledge to control, store, and convert electrical energy to
chemical energy and the inverse. This initiative shall support
scientific inquiry into the practical understanding of chemical
and physical processes that occur within systems involving
crystalline and amorphous solids, polymers, and organic and
aqueous liquids.
``(2) Leveraging.--The Secretary shall leverage expertise and
resources from the Basic Energy Sciences Program, Advanced
Scientific Computing Research Program, and Biological and
Environmental Research Program within the Office of Science,
and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, as
provided under subsections (b), (c), and (d).
``(3) Teams.--The Secretary shall organize activities under
the Electricity Storage Basic Research Initiative to include
multidisciplinary teams leveraging expertise from the National
Laboratories, universities, and the private sector to the
extent practicable. These multidisciplinary teams shall pursue
aggressive, milestone-driven basic research goals. The
Secretary shall provide sufficient resources for those teams to
achieve those goals over a period of time to be determined by
the Secretary.
``(4) Additional activities.--The Secretary is authorized to
organize additional activities under this subsection through
Energy Frontier Research Centers, Energy Innovation Hubs, or
other organizational structures.
``(b) Multivalent Systems.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, as part of the
Electricity Storage Basic Research Initiative, carry out a
program to support research needed to bridge scientific
barriers and discover knowledge relevant to multivalent ion
materials in electric energy storage systems. In carrying out
activities under this subsection, the Director of the Office of
Basic Energy Sciences shall investigate electrochemical
properties and the dynamics of materials, including charge
transfer phenomena and mass transport in materials. The
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
shall support translational research, development, and
validation of physical concepts developed under this
subsection.
``(2) Standard of review.--The Secretary shall review the
program activities under this subsection to determine the
achievement of technical milestones.
``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--
``(A) Authorization.--Subject to subsection (e),
there are authorized for carrying out activities under
this subsection for each of fiscal years 2017 through
2020--
``(i) $50,000,000 from funds within the Basic
Energy Sciences Program account; and
``(ii) $25,000,000 from funds within the
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy account.
``(B) Prohibition.--No funds authorized under this
subsection may be obligated or expended for commercial
application of energy technology.
``(c) Electrochemistry Modeling and Simulation.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, as part of the
Electricity Storage Basic Research Initiative, carry out a
program to support research to model and simulate organic
electrolytes, including their static and dynamic
electrochemical behavior and phenomena at the molecular and
atomic level in monovalent and multivalent systems. In carrying
out activities under this subsection, the Director of the
Office of Basic Energy Sciences shall, in coordination with the
Associate Director of Advanced Scientific Computing Research,
support the development of high performance computational tools
through a joint development process to maximize the
effectiveness of current and projected high performance
computing systems. The Assistant Secretary for Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy shall support translational
research, development, and validation of physical concepts
developed under this subsection.
``(2) Standard of review.--The Secretary shall review the
program activities under this subsection to determine the
achievement of technical milestones.
``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--
``(A) Authorization.--Subject to subsection (e),
there are authorized for carrying out activities under
this subsection for each of fiscal years 2017 through
2020--
``(i) $30,000,000 from funds within the Basic
Energy Sciences Program and Advanced Scientific
Computing Research Program accounts; and
``(ii) $15,000,000 from funds within the
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy account.
``(B) Prohibition.--No funds authorized under this
subsection may be obligated or expended for commercial
application of energy technology.
``(d) Mesoscale Electrochemistry.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, as part of the
Electricity Storage Basic Research Initiative, carry out a
program to support research needed to reveal electrochemistry
in confined mesoscale spaces, including scientific discoveries
relevant to bio-electrochemistry and electrochemical energy
conversion and storage in confined spaces and the dynamics of
these phenomena. In carrying out activities under this
subsection, the Director of the Office of Basic Energy Sciences
and the Associate Director of Biological and Environmental
Research shall investigate phenomena of mesoscale
electrochemical confinement for the purpose of replicating and
controlling new electrochemical behavior. The Assistant
Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy shall
support translational research, development, and validation of
physical concepts developed under this subsection.
``(2) Standard of review.--The Secretary shall review the
program activities under this subsection to determine the
achievement of technical milestones.
``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--
``(A) Authorization.--Subject to subsection (e),
there are authorized for carrying out activities under
this subsection for each of fiscal years 2017 through
2020--
``(i) $20,000,000 from funds within the Basic
Energy Sciences Program and the Biological and
Environmental Research Program accounts; and
``(ii) $10,000,000 from funds within the
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy account.
``(B) Prohibition.--No funds authorized under this
subsection may be obligated or expended for commercial
application of energy technology.
``(e) Funding.--No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated
under this section. This section shall be carried out using funds
otherwise authorized by law.''.
(b) Table of Contents Amendment.--The item relating to section 975 in
the table of contents of such Act is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 975. Electricity Storage Basic Research Initiative.''.
Committee Statement and Views
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
This legislation replaces Section 975 (Solid State
Lighting) of Title IX of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42
U.S.C. 16315) with new policy direction and program authority
for the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Science.
Section 975 will now direct DOE to prioritize basic research in
chemistry and materials science relevant to advanced
electricity storage systems by establishing an electricity
storage basic research initiative.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
On June 15, 2016, the Energy Subcommittee of the Committee
on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing entitled,
``Innovation in Solar Fuels, Electricity Storage, and Advanced
Materials,'' which explored opportunities in basic and early
stage research for experimental solar fuels systems.
On June 17, 2015, the Energy Subcommittee of the Committee
on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing titled
``Department of Energy Oversight: Energy Innovation Hubs,''
which scrutinized the effectiveness of the DOE's model for
energy innovation through the leveraging of expertise from the
DOE laboratories, universities, and the private sector.
On May 1, 2015, the Energy Subcommittee of the Committee on
Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing entitled,
``Innovations in Battery Storage for Renewable Energy,'' which
explored the state of large-scale battery storage and key
technology breakthroughs achieved through research at the
national labs and the Department of Energy, and how innovative
energy storage companies use basic science research to develop
and move breakthrough battery storage technology to the energy
market.
On January 28, 2015, the Energy Subcommittee of the
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing
entitled, ``Supercomputing and American Technology
Leadership,'' which addressed the impact of accelerating
research and development through high performance computational
modeling and simulation.
COMMITTEE VIEWS
Under this Act, the DOE will organize its basic research
efforts to advance fundamental scientific knowledge relevant to
transformative electricity storage concepts under the new
Electricity Storage Basic Research Initiative (the Initiative).
The Initiative provides direction for the DOE Office of Science
to concentrate its approach to electrochemistry through basic
research carried out by multidisciplinary teams. The Initiative
may leverage established organizational structures, including
energy frontier research centers and DOE's Energy Innovation
Hub on energy storage, known as the Joint Center for Energy
Storage Research. The Committee encourages DOE to consider new
mechanisms to efficiently make accessible the milestone driven
research that will result from this initiative in order to most
effectively engage with the research community.
DOE will carry out a coordinated effort for electrochemical
modeling and simulation making use of the most advanced high
performance computational systems. The Committee encourages DOE
to incorporate this effort into the Exascale Computing
Initiative in order to accelerate the development of exascale
architectures in the United States. The Committee also
encourages DOE to leverage its experience from the Energy
Innovation Hub for modeling and simulation, known as the
Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors.
The Initiative also provides authority for a seamless
transition from basic research to applied research and
development. Once the Office of Science makes the determination
that its work has met the objectives and bounds of its basic
research mission, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy is authorized to carry out the necessary translational
research to validate and demonstrate the concepts envisioned by
the research teams supported by the Office of Science to the
private sector and other interested stakeholders.
Section-by-Section
Sec. 1. Short title
The short title of this legislation is ``Electricity
Storage Innovation Act.''
Sec. 2. Electricity Storage Basic Research Initiative
This section amends Section 975 of the Energy Policy Act of
2005 by striking outdated program direction and replacing it.
This section also establishes an Electricity Storage Basic
Research Initiative that will support basic and early stage
research to advance fundamental scientific knowledge relevant
to experimental electricity storage systems. This section also
provides statutory direction and authorizes appropriations for
the Secretary of Energy to leverage expertise from the Office
of Science and Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
to carry out research activities. No new or additional funds
are authorized as all activities under this section are to be
carried out using existing funding. Also no funds authorized
under this section are to be used for commercialization
activities.
Explanation of Amendments
The Committee agreed by voice vote to an amendment that
explicitly makes clear that the DOE may organize activities
under the Initiative through energy innovation hubs.
Committee Consideration
On July 7, 2016, the Committee met in open session and
ordered reported favorably the bill, H.R. 5640, as amended, by
voice vote, a quorum being present.
Application of Law to the Legislative Branch
Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104-1 requires a
description of the application of this bill to the legislative
branch where the bill relates to the terms and conditions of
employment or access to public services and accommodations.
This bill directs DOE to prioritize basic research in chemistry
and materials science relevant to advanced electricity storage
systems by establishing an electricity storage basic research
initiative. As such this bill does not relate to employment or
access to public services and accommodations.
Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the Committee
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause
(2)(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, the Committee's oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the descriptive portions of
this report.
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives
H.R. 5640, the Electricity Storage Innovation Act, would
direct DOE to prioritize basic research in chemistry and
materials science relevant to advanced electricity storage
systems by establishing an electricity storage basic research
initiative.
Duplication of Federal Programs
No provision of H.R. 5640 establishes or reauthorizes a
program of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of
another Federal program, a program that was included in any
report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program
related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance.
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings
The Committee estimates that enacting H.R. 5640 does not
direct the completion of any specific rule makings within the
meaning of 5 U.S.C. 551.
Federal Advisory Committee Act
The Committee finds that the legislation does not establish
or authorize the establishment of an advisory committee within
the definition of 5 U.S.C. App., Section 5(b).
Unfunded Mandate Statement
Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment
Control Act (as amended by Section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded
Mandate Reform Act, P.L. 104-4) requires a statement as to
whether the provisions of the reported include unfunded
mandates. In compliance with this requirement the Committee has
received a letter from the Congressional Budget Office included
herein.
Earmark Identification
H.R. 5640 does not include any congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
clause 9 of rule XXI.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does
not provide new budgetary authority or increased tax
expenditures.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(3) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, an estimate
and comparison prepared by the Director of Congressional Budget
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974 was not submitted to the Committee before the filing of
the report.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, and existing law in which no
change is proposed is shown in roman):
ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 2005
* * * * * * *
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Energy
Policy Act of 2005''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is
as follows:
* * * * * * *
TITLE IX--RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
* * * * * * *
Subtitle G--Science
* * * * * * *
[Sec. 975. Solid state lighting.]
Sec. 975. Electricity Storage Basic Research Initiative.
* * * * * * *
TITLE IX--RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
* * * * * * *
Subtitle G--Science
* * * * * * *
[SEC. 975. SOLID STATE LIGHTING.
[The Secretary shall conduct a program of fundamental
research on solid state lighting in support of the Next
Generation Lighting Initiative carried out under section 912.]
SEC. 975. ELECTRICITY STORAGE BASIC RESEARCH INITIATIVE.
(a) Initiative.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out a
research initiative, to be known as the Electricity
Storage Basic Research Initiative, to expand
theoretical and fundamental knowledge to control,
store, and convert electrical energy to chemical energy
and the inverse. This initiative shall support
scientific inquiry into the practical understanding of
chemical and physical processes that occur within
systems involving crystalline and amorphous solids,
polymers, and organic and aqueous liquids.
(2) Leveraging.--The Secretary shall leverage
expertise and resources from the Basic Energy Sciences
Program, Advanced Scientific Computing Research
Program, and Biological and Environmental Research
Program within the Office of Science, and the Office of
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, as provided
under subsections (b), (c), and (d).
(3) Teams.--The Secretary shall organize activities
under the Electricity Storage Basic Research Initiative
to include multidisciplinary teams leveraging expertise
from the National Laboratories, universities, and the
private sector to the extent practicable. These
multidisciplinary teams shall pursue aggressive,
milestone-driven basic research goals. The Secretary
shall provide sufficient resources for those teams to
achieve those goals over a period of time to be
determined by the Secretary.
(4) Additional activities.--The Secretary is
authorized to organize additional activities under this
subsection through Energy Frontier Research Centers,
Energy Innovation Hubs, or other organizational
structures.
(b) Multivalent Systems.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, as part of the
Electricity Storage Basic Research Initiative, carry
out a program to support research needed to bridge
scientific barriers and discover knowledge relevant to
multivalent ion materials in electric energy storage
systems. In carrying out activities under this
subsection, the Director of the Office of Basic Energy
Sciences shall investigate electrochemical properties
and the dynamics of materials, including charge
transfer phenomena and mass transport in materials. The
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy shall support translational research,
development, and validation of physical concepts
developed under this subsection.
(2) Standard of review.--The Secretary shall review
the program activities under this subsection to
determine the achievement of technical milestones.
(3) Authorization of appropriations.--
(A) Authorization.--Subject to subsection
(e), there are authorized for carrying out
activities under this subsection for each of
fiscal years 2017 through 2020--
(i) $50,000,000 from funds within the
Basic Energy Sciences Program account;
and
(ii) $25,000,000 from funds within
the Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy account.
(B) Prohibition.--No funds authorized under
this subsection may be obligated or expended
for commercial application of energy
technology.
(c) Electrochemistry Modeling and Simulation.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, as part of the
Electricity Storage Basic Research Initiative, carry
out a program to support research to model and simulate
organic electrolytes, including their static and
dynamic electrochemical behavior and phenomena at the
molecular and atomic level in monovalent and
multivalent systems. In carrying out activities under
this subsection, the Director of the Office of Basic
Energy Sciences shall, in coordination with the
Associate Director of Advanced Scientific Computing
Research, support the development of high performance
computational tools through a joint development process
to maximize the effectiveness of current and projected
high performance computing systems. The Assistant
Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
shall support translational research, development, and
validation of physical concepts developed under this
subsection.
(2) Standard of review.--The Secretary shall review
the program activities under this subsection to
determine the achievement of technical milestones.
(3) Authorization of appropriations.--
(A) Authorization.--Subject to subsection
(e), there are authorized for carrying out
activities under this subsection for each of
fiscal years 2017 through 2020--
(i) $30,000,000 from funds within the
Basic Energy Sciences Program and
Advanced Scientific Computing Research
Program accounts; and
(ii) $15,000,000 from funds within
the Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy account.
(B) Prohibition.--No funds authorized under
this subsection may be obligated or expended
for commercial application of energy
technology.
(d) Mesoscale Electrochemistry.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, as part of the
Electricity Storage Basic Research Initiative, carry
out a program to support research needed to reveal
electrochemistry in confined mesoscale spaces,
including scientific discoveries relevant to bio-
electrochemistry and electrochemical energy conversion
and storage in confined spaces and the dynamics of
these phenomena. In carrying out activities under this
subsection, the Director of the Office of Basic Energy
Sciences and the Associate Director of Biological and
Environmental Research shall investigate phenomena of
mesoscale electrochemical confinement for the purpose
of replicating and controlling new electrochemical
behavior. The Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy shall support translational
research, development, and validation of physical
concepts developed under this subsection.
(2) Standard of review.--The Secretary shall review
the program activities under this subsection to
determine the achievement of technical milestones.
(3) Authorization of appropriations.--
(A) Authorization.--Subject to subsection
(e), there are authorized for carrying out
activities under this subsection for each of
fiscal years 2017 through 2020--
(i) $20,000,000 from funds within the
Basic Energy Sciences Program and the
Biological and Environmental Research
Program accounts; and
(ii) $10,000,000 from funds within
the Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy account.
(B) Prohibition.--No funds authorized under
this subsection may be obligated or expended
for commercial application of energy
technology.
(e) Funding.--No additional funds are authorized to be
appropriated under this section. This section shall be carried
out using funds otherwise authorized by law.
* * * * * * *
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
Last month this Committee held what I thought was a
worthwhile hearing that helped illuminate the importance of
strengthening our support for research in solar fuels. This is
clearly the aim of the Electricity Storage Innovation Act, and
I appreciate that the Majority is attempting to advance
technologies that could go a long way to improving our energy
security and to addressing the serious threat of climate
change.
However, I am concerned about what may be some of the
unintended consequences of the language in this bill, and the
Department of Energy echoed these concerns to Majority and
Minority Committee staff this week. DOE noted that labeling
research as either ``basic'' or ``applied'' in legislation
could be problematic given that the distinction can be unclear
and subjective, and the activities described in this bill can
easily be considered ``applied'' research given current
guidance by the Office of Management and Budget. So language
attempting to restrict the initiatives authorized in this bill
to ``basic'' research activities could create an inherent
conflict in their implementation.
I would note that at that hearing last month, I actually
asked the witnesses about whether it is realistic to assert--
and attempt to build policy around--a separation between basic
and applied research. All of the witnesses agreed that such a
division is nonexistent, and policymakers should not try to
divide these two categories of research or pit them against one
another.
Dr. Nathan Lewis said, ``To the extent that
the use-inspired fundamental research has an outlet
into practical implementation, there should be no
boundary.''
Dr. Daniel Hallinan agreed and said, ``The
questions that we need to answer are well-defined by
the applied side and then we can approach them from a
fundamental perspective . . . There is not really a
clear line between basic and applied.''
Dr. Daniel Scherson said, ``10% of the cost
of an actual battery goes into materials and 90% into
manufacturing, so you know we have to be able to bridge
the gap between what we regard as fundamental research
and applied research. I'm afraid companies may not want
to take the risk.''
And Dr. Collin Broholm noted the example of
the legendary Bell Labs, a model for research that the
private sector no longer supports, saying, ``Those who
are working in the discovery realm need to have the
ability to view some of the challenges that exist in
the real world as well so this artificial barrier is in
fact very unfortunate.''
So given the expert testimony from Majority and Minority
witnesses that we received on this issue just a few weeks ago
as well as the constructive guidance that the Department
provided to us this week on this bill, I hope we can all agree
that such labels aren't helpful--and can be harmful. Rather,
our goal is to guide and support energy research that the
private sector is unlikely or unwilling to pursue at a
sufficient pace to meet national economic, environmental, and
energy security needs. Any arbitrary barrier to that goal, even
if it's well-intentioned, is a step in the wrong direction.
Mark Takano.
[all]