42 USC 17231 - Energy storage competitiveness

View all text of Part D [§ 17231 - § 17233]

§ 17231. Energy storage competitiveness

(a) Short title

(b) DefinitionsIn this section:

(1) Council

(2) Compressed air energy storage

(3) Electric drive vehicleThe term “electric drive vehicle” means—

(A) a vehicle that uses an electric motor for all or part of the motive power of the vehicle, including battery electric, hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid electric, fuel cell, and plug-in fuel cell vehicles and rail transportation vehicles; or

(B) mobile equipment that uses an electric motor to replace an internal combustion engine for all or part of the work of the equipment.

(4) Islanding

(5) Flywheel

(6) Microgrid

(7) Self-healing grid

(8) Spinning reserve services

(9) Ultracapacitor

(d) Coordination

(e) Energy Storage Advisory Council

(1) Establishment

(2) Composition

(A) In general

(B) Energy storage industry

(3) Meetings

(A) In general

(B) Chapter 10 of title 5

(4) Plans

(5) ReviewThe Council shall—

(A) assess, every 2 years, the performance of the Department in meeting the goals of the plans developed under paragraph (4); and

(B) make specific recommendations to the Secretary on programs or activities that should be established or terminated to meet those goals.

(f) Basic research program

(1) Basic researchThe Secretary shall conduct a basic research program on energy storage systems to support electric drive vehicles, stationary applications, and electricity transmission and distribution, including—

(A) materials design;

(B) materials synthesis and characterization;

(D) surface and interface dynamics;

(E) modeling and simulation; and

(F) thermal behavior and life degradation mechanisms.

(2) Nanoscience centers

(3) Funding

(g) Applied research program

(1) In generalThe Secretary shall conduct an applied research program on energy storage systems to support electric drive vehicles, stationary applications, and electricity transmission and distribution technologies, including—

(A) ultracapacitors;

(B) flywheels;

(D) compressed air energy systems;

(E) power conditioning electronics;

(F) manufacturing technologies for energy storage systems;

(G) thermal management systems; and

(H) hydrogen as an energy storage medium.

(2) Funding

(h) Energy storage research centers

(1) In general

(2) Program management

(3) Participation agreements

(4) Plans

(5) National laboratories

(6) Disclosure

(7) Intellectual propertyIn accordance with section 202(a)(ii) of title 35, section 2182 of this title, and section 5908 of this title, the Secretary may require, for any new invention developed under this subsection, that—

(A) if an industrial participant is active in a 1

1 So in original. Probably should be “an”.

energy storage research center established under this subsection relating to the advancement of energy storage technologies carried out, in whole or in part, with Federal funding, the industrial participant be granted the first option to negotiate with the invention owner, at least in the field of energy storage technologies, nonexclusive licenses, and royalties on terms that are reasonable, as determined by the Secretary;

(B) if 1 or more industry participants are active in a center, during a 2-year period beginning on the date on which an invention is made—

(i) the patent holder shall not negotiate any license or royalty agreement with any entity that is not an industrial participant under this subsection; and

(ii) the patent holder shall negotiate nonexclusive licenses and royalties in good faith with any interested industrial participant under this subsection; and

(C) the new invention be developed under such other terms as the Secretary determines to be necessary to promote the accelerated commercialization of inventions made under this subsection to advance the capability of the United States to successfully compete in global energy storage markets.

(i) Energy storage systems demonstrations

(1) In general

(2) ScopeThe demonstrations shall—

(A) be regionally diversified; and

(B) expand on the existing technology demonstration program of the Department.

(3) StakeholdersIn carrying out the demonstrations, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, include the participation of a range of stakeholders, including—

(A) rural electric cooperatives;

(B) investor owned utilities;

(D) energy storage systems manufacturers;

(E) electric drive vehicle manufacturers;

(F) the renewable energy production industry;

(G) State or local energy offices;

(H) the fuel cell industry; and

(I) institutions of higher education.

(4) ObjectivesEach of the demonstrations shall include 1 or more of the following:

(A) Energy storage to improve the feasibility of microgrids or islanding, or transmission and distribution capability, to improve reliability in rural areas.

(B) Integration of an energy storage system with a self-healing grid.

(C) Use of energy storage to improve security to emergency response infrastructure and ensure availability of emergency backup power for consumers.

(D) Integration with a renewable energy production source, at the source or away from the source.

(E) Use of energy storage to provide ancillary services, such as spinning reserve services, for grid management.

(F) Advancement of power conversion systems to make the systems smarter, more efficient, able to communicate with other inverters, and able to control voltage.

(G) Use of energy storage to optimize transmission and distribution operation and power quality, which could address overloaded lines and maintenance of transformers and substations.

(H) Use of advanced energy storage for peak load management of homes, businesses, and the grid.

(I) Use of energy storage devices to store energy during nonpeak generation periods to make better use of existing grid assets.

(j) Vehicle energy storage demonstration

(1) In general

(2) ConsortiaThe technology demonstrations shall be conducted through consortia, which may include—

(A) energy storage systems manufacturers and suppliers of the manufacturers;

(B) electric drive vehicle manufacturers;

(D) investor owned utilities;

(E) municipal and rural electric utilities;

(F) State and local governments;

(G) metropolitan transportation authorities; and

(H) institutions of higher education.

(3) ObjectivesThe program shall demonstrate 1 or more of the following:

(A) Novel, high capacity, high efficiency energy storage, charging, and control systems, along with the collection of data on performance characteristics, such as battery life, energy storage capacity, and power delivery capacity.

(B) Advanced onboard energy management systems and highly efficient battery cooling systems.

(C) Integration of those systems on a prototype vehicular platform, including with drivetrain systems for passenger, commercial, and nonroad electric drive vehicles.

(D) New technologies and processes that reduce manufacturing costs.

(E) Integration of advanced vehicle technologies with electricity distribution system and smart metering technology.

(F) Control systems that minimize emissions profiles in cases in which clean diesel engines are part of a plug-in hybrid drive system.

(k) Electric drive vehicle battery second-life applications and recycling

(1) DefinitionsIn this subsection:

(A) Battery recycling and second-life applications program

(B) Critical material

(D) Electric drive vehicle battery

(E) Eligible entity

(2) ProgramThe Secretary shall carry out a program of research, development, and demonstration of—

(A) second-life applications for electric drive vehicle batteries that have been used to power electric drive vehicles; and

(B) technologies and processes for final recycling and disposal of the devices described in subparagraph (A).

(3) Electric drive vehicle battery recycling and second-life applications

(A) In generalIn carrying out the program under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall establish an electric drive vehicle battery recycling and second-life applications program under which the Secretary shall—

(i) award grants under subparagraph (D); and

(ii) carry out other activities in accordance with this paragraph.

(B) PurposesThe purposes of the battery recycling and second-life applications program are the following:

(i) To improve the recycling rates and second-use adoption rates of electric drive vehicle batteries.

(ii) To optimize the design and adaptability of electric drive vehicle batteries to make electric drive vehicle batteries more easily recyclable.

(iii) To establish alternative supply chains for critical materials that are found in electric drive vehicle batteries.

(iv) To reduce the cost of manufacturing, installation, purchase, operation, and maintenance of electric drive vehicle batteries.

(v) To improve the environmental impact of electric drive vehicle battery recycling processes.

(D) Grants

(i) In generalIn carrying out the battery recycling and second-life applications program, the Secretary shall award multiyear grants on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis to eligible entities—(I) to conduct research, development, testing, and evaluation of solutions to increase the rate and productivity of electric drive vehicle battery recycling; and(II) for research, development, and demonstration projects to create innovative and practical approaches to increase the recycling and second-use of electric drive vehicle batteries, including by addressing—(aa) technology to increase the efficiency of electric drive vehicle battery recycling and maximize the recovery of critical materials for use in new products;(bb) expanded uses for critical materials recovered from electric drive vehicle batteries;(cc) product design and construction to facilitate the disassembly and recycling of electric drive vehicle batteries;(dd) product design and construction and other tools and techniques to extend the lifecycle of electric drive vehicle batteries, including methods to promote the safe second-use of electric drive vehicle batteries;(ee) strategies to increase consumer acceptance of, and participation in, the recycling of electric drive vehicle batteries;(ff) improvements and changes to electric drive vehicle battery chemistries that include ways to decrease processing costs for battery recycling without sacrificing front-end performance;(gg) second-use of electric drive vehicle batteries, including in applications outside of the automotive industry; and(hh) the commercialization and scale-up of electric drive vehicle battery recycling technologies.

(ii) PriorityIn awarding grants under clause (i), the Secretary shall give priority to projects that—(I) are located in geographically diverse regions of the United States;(II) include business commercialization plans that have the potential for the recycling of electric drive vehicle batteries at high volumes;(III) support the development of advanced manufacturing technologies that have the potential to improve the competitiveness of the United States in the international electric drive vehicle battery manufacturing sector;(IV) provide the greatest potential to reduce costs for consumers and promote accessibility and community implementation of demonstrated technologies;(V) increase disclosure and transparency of information to consumers;(VI) support the development or demonstration of projects in economically distressed areas; and(VII) support other relevant priorities, as determined to be appropriate by the Secretary.

(iii) Solicitation

(iv) Dissemination of resultsThe Secretary shall publish the results of the projects carried out through grants awarded under clause (i) through—(I) best practices relating to those grants, for use in the electric drive vehicle battery manufacturing, design, installation, refurbishing, or recycling industries;(II) coordination with information dissemination programs relating to general recycling of electronic devices; and(III) educational materials for the public, produced in conjunction with State and local governments or nonprofit organizations, on the problems and solutions relating to the recycling and second-life applications of electric drive vehicle batteries.

(E) Coordination with other programs of the Department

(F) Study and report

(i) Study

(ii) ReportNot later than 1 year after November 15, 2021, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives, and any other relevant committee of Congress a report containing the results of the study under clause (i), including a description of—(I) the ability of relevant businesses or other entities to competitively manufacture electric drive vehicle batteries and recycle electric drive vehicle batteries in the United States;(II) any existing electric drive vehicle battery recycling and second-use practices and plans of electric drive vehicle manufacturing companies in the United States;(III) any barriers to electric drive vehicle battery recycling in the United States;(IV) opportunities and barriers in electric drive vehicle battery supply chains in the United States and internationally, including with allies and trading partners;(V) opportunities for job creation in the electric drive vehicle battery recycling and manufacturing fields and the necessary skills employees must acquire for growth of those fields in the United States;(VI) policy recommendations for enhancing electric drive vehicle battery manufacturing and recycling in the United States;(VII) any recommendations for lowering logistics costs and creating better coordination and efficiency with respect to the removal, collection, transportation, storage, and disassembly of electric drive vehicle batteries;(VIII) any recommendations for areas of coordination with other Federal agencies to improve electric drive vehicle battery recycling rates in the United States;(IX) an aggressive 2-year target and plan, the implementation of which shall begin during the 90-day period beginning on the date on which the report is submitted, to enhance the competitiveness of electric drive vehicle battery manufacturing and recycling in the United States; and(X) needs for future research, development, and demonstration projects in electric drive vehicle battery manufacturing, recycling, and related areas, as determined by the Secretary.

(G) Evaluation

(l) Cost sharing

(m) Merit review of proposals

(n) Coordination and nonduplication

(o) Review by National Academy of Sciences

(p) Authorization of appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to carry out—

(1) the basic research program under subsection (f) $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2018;

(2) the applied research program under subsection (g) $80,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2018; and; 2

(3) the energy storage research center program under subsection (h) $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2018;

(4) the energy storage systems demonstration program under subsection (i) $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2018;

(5) the vehicle energy storage demonstration program under subsection (j) $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2018; and

(6) the electric drive vehicle battery recycling and second-life applications program under subsection (k) $200,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.

(q) Critical material recycling and reuse research, development, and demonstration program

(1) DefinitionsIn this subsection:

(A) Critical material

(B) Critical material recycling

(2) Establishment

(3) Research, development, and demonstrationIn carrying out the program established under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall conduct—

(A) research, development, and demonstration activities for—

(i) technologies, process improvements, and design optimizations that facilitate and promote critical material recycling of energy storage systems, including separation and sorting of component materials of such systems, and extraction, recovery, and reuse of critical materials from such systems;

(ii) technologies and methods that mitigate emissions and environmental impacts that arise from critical material recycling, including disposal of toxic reagents and byproducts related to critical material recycling processes;

(iii) technologies to enable extraction, recovery, and reuse of energy storage systems from electric vehicles and critical material recycling from such vehicles; and

(iv) technologies and methods to enable the safe transport, storage, and disposal of energy storage systems containing critical materials, including waste materials and components recovered during the critical material recycling process; and

(B) research on nontechnical barriers to improve the collection and critical material recycling of energy storage systems, including strategies to improve consumer education of, acceptance of, and participation in, the critical material recycling of energy storage systems.

(4) Report to Congress

(Pub. L. 110–140, title VI, § 641, Dec. 19, 2007, 121 Stat. 1688; Pub. L. 116–260, div. Z, title III, § 3201(f), formerly § 3201(e), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2523, renumbered § 3201(f), Pub. L. 117–58, div. D, title III, § 40334(1), Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 1025; Pub. L. 117–58, div. D, title II, § 40208, Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 971; Pub. L. 117–286, § 4(a)(280), Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4336.)