42 U.S.C. § 18911 — Basic energy sciences program

Subsections (a) through (c) were omitted from the codified text supplied here. (d) Foundational nuclear science. (1) The Director of the Office of Science must support research to expand understanding of nuclear materials and matter, for the benefit of commerce, medicine, and national security. (2) This includes: (A) basic research in nuclear materials science — including advanced computing applied to characterizing materials, synthesizing them, processing them, using experimental and theoretical data, and studying mechanical behavior in tough conditions like radiation; research in electrochemistry for processing nuclear materials; developing better instruments and data collection to support that work; and any other research area the Director chooses; and (B) the Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy consulting with the Director to guide how physical concepts from the program get translated into real applications. (3) Congress authorized $50,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2023 through 2027 for this work, drawn from the basic energy sciences budget. (e) Carbon Materials Science Initiative. (1) The Director of the Office of Science must create a "Carbon Materials Science Initiative" to expand knowledge of coal, coal waste, and carbon ore chemistry, focused on converting carbon into material products. (A) The Director runs it. (B) The Director must work with the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management and the U.S. Geological Survey. (C) The Director must organize multidisciplinary teams — from National Laboratories, colleges, and the private sector — to pursue clear, milestone-driven goals. (2) Research program. (A) The Director runs a program to support and discover knowledge about carbon materials and carbon ore processing. (B) This includes research into: (i) extracting, processing, recycling, and using materials and minerals from raw coal and coal waste; (ii) improving carbon capture system materials; and (iii) new ways to convert carbon dioxide into other materials. (C) The Director periodically reviews the program's progress toward its scientific goals. (D) The Director must coordinate with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Carbon Utilization Research Center (section 16298a), and avoid duplicating other efforts. (3) Carbon Materials Research Centers. (A) The Director must set up one center in each of the two biggest coal-producing regions of the country. Each center, called a "Carbon Materials Research Center," focuses on early-stage research into: (I) extracting, processing, or recycling carbon and other materials from coal or coal waste; (II) improving the properties and recyclability of carbon-based materials; (III) overcoming challenges in commercially producing coal-derived carbon products; and (IV) finding new ways to store or convert carbon. (B) Centers are chosen competitively, based on merit, from National Laboratories, colleges, multi-institution teams, and other qualified applicants. (C) A center gets funding for up to 5 years. (D) The Director may renew that funding, competitively, for another 5 years at a time. (E) The Director must make sure centers aren't duplicating existing work, and should use existing Department facilities where practical. (f) Carbon Sequestration Research and Geologic Computational Science Initiative. (1) The Secretary must create this Initiative to expand knowledge, data, and modeling of underground geology, to advance storing carbon underground. (A) The Secretary runs it. (B) The Secretary must work with the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management and the U.S. Geological Survey. (C) The Secretary organizes multidisciplinary teams from National Laboratories, colleges, and the private sector, pursuing ambitious, milestone-driven goals. (D) The Secretary may also set up additional activities through other structures. (2) Research program. (A) The Secretary runs a program supporting research on storing carbon underground. (B) The Director of the Office of Science supports research into: (i) gathering geologic data, including better seismic imaging; (ii) evaluating whether underground pore space is suitable for storage; (iii) testing carbon storage; (iv) tracking how stored carbon moves underground; (v) improving data analytics and computing for visualizing and imaging underground formations; and (vi) predicting how complex underground processes behave, for safe storage. (C) The Secretary periodically reviews progress toward the program's goals. (3) Carbon storage research and geologic computational science centers. (A) The Secretary must set up no more than 2 of these centers to improve data, analysis, and modeling for underground carbon storage. (B) Centers are chosen competitively based on merit, spread across geographically diverse regions with existing carbon storage research, from colleges, multi-institution teams, and other qualified applicants. (C) A center created after August 9, 2022, gets up to 5 years of support; one that already existed on that date can keep getting support for up to 5 years starting from that date; either way, the Secretary may renew support competitively for another 5 years at a time. (4) Coordination. The Secretary must coordinate with the U.S. Geological Survey and the programs under section 16293 of this title, and avoid duplicating other efforts. (g) Funding for Carbon Initiatives. Congress authorized $50,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2023 through 2027, drawn from the basic energy sciences budget, to fund the initiatives in subsections (e) and (f).