42 U.S.C. § 18911 — Basic energy sciences program
submitted 4 years ago by Pub. L. 117-167 to r/title-42-THE-PUBLIC-HEALTH-AND-WELFARE · 1,654 words · no verdicts yet
This section directs the Office of Science and the Department of Energy to support basic research on nuclear materials, carbon materials, and geologic carbon storage, including research centers and funding.
(a) to (c) Omitted.
(d) Foundational nuclear science. (1) The Office of Science Director* must support research and development that removes scientific barriers and expands basic knowledge about nuclear materials and matter for commerce, medicine, and national security. (2) The Director must support research in nuclear materials science, including advanced computing, materials characterization and synthesis, processing, innovative use of experimental and theoretical data, and mechanical behavior in unusual environments including radiation; electrochemistry and related nuclear-material processing; advanced instruments and nuclear-data collection; and other research areas the Director chooses. The Assistant Secretary* for Nuclear Energy must consult the Director about translating, developing, and validating physical concepts from the program. (3) Congress authorizes $50,000,000 each fiscal year 2023–2027 for these activities from basic-energy-sciences authorizations.
(e) Carbon Materials Science Initiative. (1) The Director must establish this initiative to expand basic knowledge of coal, coal waste, and carbon-ore chemistry useful for converting carbon into material products. The Director must use expertise and resources from Fossil Energy and Carbon Management and the U.S. Geological Survey, and organize multidisciplinary teams drawing as far as practicable on National Laboratories, higher education, and private industry. The teams must pursue quick, milestone-based goals set by the Director. (2) The Director must support basic carbon-materials and carbon-ore-processing research, including extracting, processing, recycling, and using materials and valuable minerals in coal and coal waste; improving performance, cost, and availability of carbon-capture materials; and unconventional carbon-dioxide conversion paths and materials. The Director must periodically review scientific objectives and milestones, coordinate knowledge sharing with the Geological Survey and the section 16298a programs and Carbon Utilization Research Center, and avoid duplicating efforts. (3) The Director must establish one Carbon Materials Research Center in each of the two major U.S. coal-producing regions. Each must conduct early-stage research on extracting, processing, or recycling carbon and other valuable materials; improving their properties and recyclability; overcoming commercial challenges and maximizing benefits of coal-derived carbon; and finding new carbon-storage and product-conversion paths. Centers must be selected competitively and on merit from National Laboratories, higher-education institutions, collaborations, and other suitable entities. Support lasts up to 5 years, subject to appropriations, and may be renewed after merit review for up to another 5 years. Activities may not duplicate existing work, and the Director should use existing Department user facilities and capabilities when practicable.
(f) Carbon Sequestration Research and Geologic Computational Science Initiative. (1) The Secretary must establish this initiative to expand knowledge, data collection and analysis, and modeling of subsurface geology to advance carbon sequestration in geologic formations. The Secretary must use Fossil Energy and Carbon Management and Geological Survey expertise and resources, organize multidisciplinary teams from laboratories, higher education, and private industry, and set aggressive milestone-based goals. The Secretary may use other organizational structures. (2) The program must support research on geologic carbon storage, including pore-space data and seismic imaging; evaluating samples and zones; testing sequestration; monitoring carbon movement; seismic-data analytics and computing, visualization, and imaging; and predicting coupled processes in complex subsurface systems for secure storage. The Secretary must periodically review objectives and milestones. (3) The Secretary may establish up to two carbon-storage and geologic-computational-science centers. They must improve subsurface-geology data collection, analysis, and modeling. Centers must be chosen competitively and on merit and, as far as practicable, placed in geographically diverse regions with ongoing geologic carbon-sequestration research and demonstrations. Applications may come from higher-education institutions, collaborations, and other appropriate entities. A new center established after August 9, 2022, may receive up to 5 years of support; a center existing on that date may receive up to 5 years beginning that date; either may receive a merit-reviewed renewal of up to 5 years. The Secretary must coordinate with the Geological Survey and section 16293 programs and avoid duplication.
(g) Funding. Congress authorizes $50,000,000 each fiscal year 2023–2027 for activities under subsections (e) and (f), from basic-energy-sciences authorizations.
The Director* of the Office of Science shall support a program of research and development to bridge scientific barriers to, and expand theoretical and fundamental knowledge relevant to, understanding nuclear materials and matter for the benefit of commerce, medicine, and national security.
As part of the program described in paragraph (1)—
the Director of the Office of Science shall support basic research to pursue distinct lines of scientific inquiry, including—
research in nuclear materials science, including the application of advanced computing practices* to foundational and emerging research areas in nuclear materials science and discovery, such as—
the advanced characterization of materials;
materials synthesis;
processing;
the innovative use of experimental and theoretical data; and
mechanical behavior in unique environments, including the effects of radiation;
electrochemistry research and associated techniques for processing nuclear materials;
the development of advanced instrumentation and nuclear data collection to inform the activities described in clauses (i) and (ii); and
any other area of research, as determined by the Director of the Office of Science; and
the Assistant Secretary* for Nuclear Energy shall consult with the Director of the Office of Science to support the direction of translational research, development, and validation of physical concepts developed under the program.
Of the funds authorized to be appropriated for basic energy sciences in a fiscal year, there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Energy to carry out activities under this subsection $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027.
The Director of the Office of Science (referred to in this subsection as the “Director”) shall establish a research initiative, to be known as the “Carbon Materials Science Initiative” (referred to in this subsection as the “Initiative”), to expand the fundamental knowledge of coal, coal-wastes, and carbon ore chemistry useful for understanding the conversion of carbon to material products.
In carrying out programs and activities under the Initiative, the Director shall leverage expertise and resources from the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management and the United States Geological Survey.
In carrying out the Initiative, the Director shall establish and organize activities among multidisciplinary teams to leverage, to the maximum extent practicable, expertise from the National Laboratories, institutions of higher education, and the private sector.
The multidisciplinary teams described in clause (i) shall pursue expedient, milestone-driven research goals established by the Director.
The Director shall carry out under the Initiative a program to support, and discover fundamental knowledge relevant to, carbon materials and carbon ore processing research.
As part of the program described in subparagraph (A), the Director shall, in coordination with the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, as appropriate, support research to pursue distinct lines of scientific inquiry, including—
methods of extraction, processing, recycling, and utilization of the materials and valuable minerals contained in raw coal and coal-waste;
methods of improving performance, cost, and availability of materials for use in carbon capture systems; and
unconventional pathways and materials for conversion of carbon dioxide molecules, minerals, and materials.
The Director shall periodically review activities carried out under the program described in subparagraph (A) to evaluate the achievement of scientific objectives and research milestones.
In carrying out the program described in subparagraph (A), the Director shall—
ensure coordination and knowledge sharing with—
the United States Geological Survey; and
the programs and the Carbon Utilization Research Center established under section 16298a of this title; and
avoid duplication of efforts to the maximum extent practicable.
In carrying out the activities authorized under paragraph (2), the Director shall establish 1 center in each of the 2 major coal-producing regions of the United States, each of which shall—
be known as a “Carbon Materials Research Center” (referred to in this paragraph as a “Center”); and
focus on early stage research and development activities, including—
developing and advancing methods of extracting, processing, or recycling carbon or other valuable materials or minerals from raw coal, coal-waste, or other solid carbon materials, for the development of new carbon-based materials;
methods of improving the structural, physical, and chemical properties of carbon-based materials or other valuable materials from raw coal, coal-waste, or other solid carbon materials and their recyclability;
overcoming the challenges and maximizing the benefits of commercially extracting, producing, or improving coal-derived carbon and resulting products; and
identifying novel pathways and materials for carbon storage and conversion into useful products.
The Director shall—
select Centers under subparagraph (A) on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis; and
consider applications from the National Laboratories, institutions of higher education, multi-institutional collaborations, and other appropriate entities.
A Center shall receive support for a period of not more than 5 years beginning on the date of establishment of that Center, subject to the availability of appropriations.
On the expiration of any period of support of a Center, the Director may renew support for that Center, on a merit-reviewed basis, for a period of not more than 5 years.
The Director shall—
ensure that the research activities carried out by the Centers are not duplicative of existing efforts; and
if practicable, leverage existing user facilities and other capabilities of the Department of Energy to carry out the research objectives of the Centers.
The Secretary of Energy (referred to in this subsection as the “Secretary”) shall establish a research initiative, to be known as the “Carbon Sequestration Research and Geologic Computational Science Initiative” (referred to in this subsection as the “Initiative”), to expand the fundamental knowledge, data collection, data analysis, and modeling of subsurface geology for the purpose of advancing carbon sequestration in geologic formations.
In carrying out programs and activities under the Initiative, the Secretary shall leverage expertise and resources from the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management and the United States Geological Survey.
In carrying out the Initiative, the Secretary shall establish and organize activities among multidisciplinary teams to leverage, to the maximum extent practicable, expertise from the National Laboratories, institutions of higher education, and the private sector.
The multidisciplinary teams described in clause (i) shall pursue aggressive, milestone-driven research goals established by the Secretary.
The Secretary may organize additional activities under this subsection through other organizational structures.
The Secretary shall carry out under the Initiative a program to support research needed for, and discover knowledge relevant to, the sequestration of carbon in geologic formations.
As part of the program described in subparagraph (A), the Director of the Office of Science shall support fundamental research to pursue distinct lines of scientific inquiry, including—
gathering geologic data for pore space characterization, including improvements to geologic seismic imaging;
evaluating pore space quality, including evaluation of geologic samples, to determine appropriate sequestration zones for carbon;
testing carbon sequestration;
monitoring carbon migration in geologic formations;
advancements in data analytics, including the analysis of seismic data, and computational science to improve the advanced computing, visualization, and imaging of geologic formations for the sequestration of carbon; and
predictive understanding of coupled processes in complex subsurface geologic systems for secure carbon storage.
The Secretary shall periodically review activities carried out under the program described in subparagraph (A) to evaluate achievement of scientific objectives and research milestones.
In carrying out the activities authorized under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall select and establish not more than 2 carbon storage research and geologic computational science centers (referred to in this paragraph as a “Center”) to develop and advance improvements to data collection, analysis, and modeling of subsurface geology for the purpose of advancing carbon sequestration in geologic formations.
The Secretary shall—
select Centers under subparagraph (A) on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis; and
to the maximum extent practicable, locate each Center in a geographically diverse region with established and ongoing geologic carbon sequestration research and demonstration.
In selecting Centers under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall consider applications from institutions of higher education, multi-institutional collaborations, and other appropriate entities.
A Center established after August 9, 2022, shall receive support for a period of not more than 5 years beginning on the date of establishment of that Center, subject to the availability of appropriations.
A Center already in existence on August 9, 2022, may continue to receive support for a period of not more than 5 years beginning on August 9, 2022.
On expiration of a period of support described in clause (i) or (ii), the Secretary may renew support for the Center, on a merit-reviewed basis, for a period of not more than 5 years.
In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall—
ensure coordination with—
the United States Geological Survey; and
the programs established under section 16293 of this title; and
avoid duplication of efforts to the maximum extent practicable.
Of the funds authorized to be appropriated for basic energy sciences in a fiscal year, there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out activities under subsections (e) and (f) $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title I, § 10102, Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1409.)
- 2022Enacted · Pub. L. 117-167 · 136 Stat. 1409
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 117-167 on 2022-08-09.
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