Energy Critical Elements Advancement Act of 2011

Energy Critical Elements Advancement Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the Secretary of Energy (DOE), acting through the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, to collaborate to improve assessments of energy critical elements.

Requires the Director of the USGS to designate as a Principal Statistical Agency the entity within USGS that gathers information for such assessments.

Directs the DOE Secretary to: (1) establish a research program to advance basic knowledge and enable expanded availability of designated energy critical elements, and (2) develop and update biennially an integrated research plan to guide program activities.

Requires the Critical and Strategic Mineral Supply Chain Subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council to report to certain congressional committees on the recycling of energy critical elements.

[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2090 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2090

To improve assessments of and research about energy critical elements, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 2, 2011

 Mr. Hultgren (for himself, Mrs. Biggert, and Mr. Lipinski) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, 
  Space, and Technology, and in addition to the Committees on Natural 
  Resources and 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 improve assessments of and research about energy critical elements, 
                        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 ``Energy Critical Elements Advancement 
Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. INFORMATION GATHERING, ANALYSIS, AND DISSEMINATION.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of the Interior, acting through 
the Director of the USGS, and the Secretary of Energy, acting through 
the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, shall 
collaborate to improve assessments of energy critical elements that 
includes--
            (1) discovered and potential resources;
            (2) production;
            (3) use;
            (4) trade;
            (5) disposal; and
            (6) recycling.
    (b) Duties.--The entity within the USGS that gathers the 
information for the assessments under subsection (a) shall--
            (1) regularly survey emerging energy technologies and the 
        supply chain for elements throughout the periodic table 
        necessary for those technologies in order to forecast potential 
        supply disruptions; and
            (2) make available such information in the aggregate, with 
        appropriate protection of proprietary information, to the 
        United States scientific community, including industry, 
        institutions of higher education, and the United States 
        Department of Energy National Laboratories and Technology 
        Centers.
    (c) Designation.--The Director of the USGS shall designate the 
entity within the USGS that gathers the information for the assessments 
under subsection (a) as a ``Principal Statistical Agency''.

SEC. 3. RESEARCH.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Energy, in coordination with 
the Secretary of the Interior, shall establish a research program to 
advance basic knowledge and enable expanded availability of energy 
critical elements, including research on basic materials science, 
chemistry, physics, and engineering associated with energy critical 
elements, including materials characterization and substitution, 
recycling, and life-cycle analysis.
    (b) Research Plan.--In consultation with the Critical and Strategic 
Mineral Supply Chain Subcommittee of the National Science and 
Technology Council, the Secretary shall develop and update biennially 
an integrated research plan to guide program activities.
    (c) Limitation.--Research under subsection (a) shall be limited to 
areas that industry is not likely to undertake due to technical and 
financial uncertainty.

SEC. 4. REPORT.

    Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Critical 
and Strategic Mineral Supply Chain Subcommittee of the National Science 
and Technology Council shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, 
and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the 
recycling of energy critical elements, including--
            (1) the logistics, economic viability, and research and 
        development needs for completing the recycling process;
            (2) options for both the Federal Government and industry, 
        including an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of such 
        options, for improving the rates of collection of post-consumer 
        products containing energy critical elements; and
            (3) an analysis of the methods explored and implemented in 
        various states and countries, such as Japan and South Korea.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Energy critical element.--The term ``energy critical 
        element'' means each of the following:
                    (A) Helium.
                    (B) Lithium.
                    (C) Scandium.
                    (D) Cobalt.
                    (E) Gallium.
                    (F) Germanium.
                    (G) Selenium.
                    (H) Yttrium.
                    (I) Ruthenium.
                    (J) Rhodium.
                    (K) Palladium.
                    (L) Silver.
                    (M) Indium.
                    (N) Tellurium.
                    (O) Lanthanum.
                    (P) Rhenium.
                    (Q) Osmium.
                    (R) Iridium.
                    (S) Platinum.
                    (T) Cerium.
                    (U) Praseodymium.
                    (V) Neodymium.
                    (W) Samarium.
                    (X) Europium.
                    (Y) Gadolinium.
                    (Z) Terbium.
                    (AA) Dysprosium.
                    (BB) Ytterbium.
                    (CC) Lutetium.
                    (DD) Any other element designated as an energy 
                critical element by the Critical and Strategic Mineral 
                Supply Chain Subcommittee of the National Science and 
                Technology Council.
            (2) USGS.--The term ``USGS'' means the United States 
        Geological Survey.
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