[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5750 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5750
To direct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Secretary of Energy,
and the Secretary of Agriculture to collaborate to determine the
feasibility of creating the Green Nuclear Fertilizer Program, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 27, 2023
Mr. Donalds introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy
and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Secretary of Energy,
and the Secretary of Agriculture to collaborate to determine the
feasibility of creating the Green Nuclear Fertilizer Program, 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.
This Act may be cited as the ``Green Nuclear Fertilizer Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Green fertilizers, such as those produced by energy
generated by an advanced nuclear reactor, are nitrate-based
mineral fertilizers with the same chemical and physical
composition as fertilizers produced with fossil fuels, but have
a lower carbon footprint.
(2) Pink hydrogen is hydrogen that is produced through
electrolysis generated by nuclear energy, including energy
generated by advanced nuclear reactors.
(3) In 2023, approximately 95 percent of the hydrogen
produced in the United States came from natural gas through a
process called steam methane reforming.
(4) Hydrogen is an essential feedstock for ammonia
production, which is very energy intensive process, but this
process could be augmented with advanced nuclear technology.
(5) Ammonia is a commodity chemical used for fertilizers,
and is produced through a high-pressure, high-heat catalytic
reaction of nitrogen and hydrogen.
(6) The ammonia market is expected to be one of the early
deployment opportunities for advanced nuclear reactors through
the sale of pink hydrogen.
(7) According to the International Renewable Energy Agency,
ammonia is the second-most produced chemical in the world by
mass.
(8) The International Energy Agency estimates ammonia
production capacity will need to increase nearly 40 percent by
2050 to account for expected global population and economic
growth.
(9) According to the U.S. Geological Survey, 88 percent of
ammonia consumption in the United States is for fertilizer
production.
(10) In 2021, the United States had 35 active ammonia
production plants across 16 States, with 60 percent of
production capacity located in Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.
(11) China produces almost a third of the world's ammonia
supply, using coal as the primary hydrogen feedstock.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that Congress--
(1) understands the potential for the United States to be a
global leader in producing pink hydrogen, zero-emissions
ammonia, and green nuclear fertilizer;
(2) believes the pink hydrogen market for ammonia in
fertilizer products could be a considerable early market
opportunity to assist with providing assurance to nuclear
supply chain manufacturers while decreasing market risks
associated with deploying advanced nuclear reactors;
(3) encourages the United States to take advantage of this
global leadership opportunity, both by assisting with advanced
nuclear reactor deployment and providing farmers throughout the
United States and rest of the world with green nuclear
fertilizer; and
(4) recognizes the positive environmental impacts that
green nuclear fertilizer can have.
SEC. 4. EXAMINATION OF FEASIBILITY OF GREEN NUCLEAR FERTILIZER PROGRAM.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Secretary of Energy, and the
Secretary of Agriculture shall collaborate to jointly examine--
(1) the feasibility of establishing and carrying out a
program, to be led by the Secretary of Agriculture and to be
known as the Green Nuclear Fertilizer Program, under which the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Secretary of Energy, and the
Secretary of Agriculture would--
(A) act as a liaisons between the energy generating
industry, the hydrogen production industry, the ammonia
production industry, the fertilizer industry, and the
agriculture industry;
(B) to the extent authorized, ease regulatory
restrictions associated with green nuclear fertilizer,
including regulatory restrictions associated with
licensing and deploying advanced nuclear reactors; and
(C) act as a single source of contact for
stakeholders interested in producing, purchasing, or
selling green nuclear fertilizer such that stakeholders
could contact and receive necessary information on
green nuclear fertilizer, including safety information,
information about the environmental benefits of green
nuclear fertilizer, and other information;
(2) if establishing and carrying the Green Nuclear
Fertilizer Program is determined to be feasible under paragraph
(1)--
(A) what the goals of the Green Nuclear Fertilizer
Program should be;
(B) who will have access to the Green Fertilizer
Program in both the nuclear industry and the
agriculture industry, including advanced nuclear
reactor developers, electric utilities, farmers, and
fertilizer producers; and
(C) how the Green Nuclear Fertilizer Program could
provide resources or other assistance in establishing
industry agreements for green nuclear fertilizer,
including power purchase agreements, offtake
agreements, or other contractual arrangements for green
nuclear fertilizer;
(3) the economic impacts, both domestically and
internationally, of producing and using green nuclear
fertilizers compared to fertilizers that are not produced with
zero-emissions ammonia;
(4) the health impacts associated with using green nuclear
fertilizer, and a comparison of such health impacts to the
health impacts of using fertilizers that are not produced with
zero-emissions ammonia;
(5) whether there is any impact on crops and overall yield
associated with using green nuclear fertilizer;
(6) regulatory changes needed to ease the way and prepare
for the creation, sale, and procurement of green nuclear
fertilizer; and
(7) issues relating to infrastructure for the production of
green nuclear fertilizer, including--
(A) whether use of advanced nuclear reactors to
produce pink hydrogen would impact existing fertilizer
production infrastructure;
(B) how advanced nuclear reactors could be used
with existing infrastructure, including currently
operational, retiring, and retired infrastructure, to
produce pink hydrogen;
(C) challenges associated with retrofitting
existing infrastructure to deploy advanced nuclear
reactors to be used for variable purposes, such as
providing electricity to the electric grid and hydrogen
production, based on necessity; and
(D) challenges associated with constructing new
pink hydrogen production facilities that are powered by
an advanced nuclear reactor.
SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
Not later than 365 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Secretary of Energy, and the
Secretary of Agriculture shall jointly submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report on the examination conducted under
section 4, including--
(1) a determination on whether the establishment of the
Green Nuclear Fertilizer Program is feasible and--
(A) if it is determined to be feasible, a plan to
develop the Program, and a description of steps for
Congress to take to make the Program successful; and
(B) if it is determined not to be feasible, a
description of why it is not feasible, and possible
solutions to make the Program feasible; and
(2) an analysis of how such a Program would--
(A) increase market demand for the deployment of
advanced nuclear reactors in the United States; and
(B) benefit the agriculture industry.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Advance nuclear reactor.--The term ``advanced nuclear
reactor'' has the meaning given the term in section 3(1) of the
Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (42 U.S.C. 2215
note).
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the
Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Environment and Public Works,
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of
the Senate.
(3) Green nuclear fertilizer.--The term ``green nuclear
fertilizer'' means fertilizer that is produced with zero-
emissions ammonia.
(4) Pink hydrogen.--
(A) In general.--The term ``pink hydrogen'' means
hydrogen that is produced through electrolysis
generated by nuclear energy.
(B) Exclusion.--The term ``pink hydrogen'' does not
include thermal hydrogen.
(5) Zero-emissions ammonia.--The term ``zero-emissions
ammonia'' means ammonia that is produced with pink hydrogen and
nitrogen.
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