[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2777 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2777
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
April 22, 2021
Mr. Gonzalez of Ohio (for himself, Ms. Stevens, and Mr. Lucas)
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 2021''.
(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-based 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'' has
the meaning given such term in section 7002 of Division Z of
the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260).
(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 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 and the National
Laboratories.
(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.--From within funds authorized to be appropriated--
(1) 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 2022 through
2026; and
(2) 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 2022 through 2026.
SEC. 4. LITHIUM-BASED 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-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-based batteries that prioritize the use of
domestic mining resources; and
(3) research and develop cost-effective recycling processes
to recover critical materials from discarded lithium-based
batteries and enable their reintroduction in new lithium-based
cell technologies and increase availability of domestically
sourced raw materials for batteries 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-based battery recycling activities
supported by the Vehicle Technologies Office within the Office
of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy;
(3) the Office of Fossil Energy; and
(4) 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.--From within funds authorized to be appropriated--
(1) 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 2022
through 2026;
(2) 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 2022 through 2026; and
(3) to the Department's Office of Fossil Energy, there
shall be made available to the Secretary to carry out the
activities under this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2022 through 2026.
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