Office of critical minerals and energy innovation

(a) Definitions In this section: (1) Covered project The term covered project means a project funded or managed by the Department relating to— (A) capacity expansion of manufacturing and energy supply chains for key energy technologies, including batteries, building and energy efficiency, critical minerals and recycling, energy generation and fuels, including geothermal, grid equipment, and industrial base capabilities essential for national defense; (B) energy or productivity assessments of small and medium-sized manufacturers, clean energy supply chains, and academic institutions; and (C) workforce development, recruitment, and training relating to subparagraphs (A) and (B). (2) Director The term Director means the head of the Office appointed under subsection (c). (3) Office The term Office means the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation established under subsection (b). (b) Establishment (1) In general The Secretary shall establish an office, to be known as the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation. (2) Purpose The purpose of the Office is to eliminate vulnerabilities in the United States energy supply chain for purposes of enduring energy resilience and independence— (A) by catalyzing United States processing and manufacturing capacity; (B) by reinvigorating the manufacturing workforce through education and training opportunities; and (C) by generating data-backed supply chain insights to inform policies and private and public investments. (3) Interagency collaboration (A) In general As applicable, the Director shall coordinate and collaborate with interagency partners, including the agencies described in subparagraph (B), on energy supply chain analysis that may be used to lessen vulnerabilities of the United States and allies of the United States. (B) Agencies described The agencies referred to in subparagraph (A) are— (i) the Department of Defense; (ii) the National Security Council; (iii) the Export-Import Bank of the United States; (iv) the Development Finance Cooperation; (v) the Department of the Treasury; (vi) the United States Agency for International Development; and (vii) the Department of Commerce. (c) Director The Secretary shall appoint a Director to be head of the Office. (d) Duties The Director shall, in coordination with the heads of relevant program offices of the Department, as appropriate— (1) provide financial assistance to, administer, provide interagency coordination of, or conduct oversight of the administration of, as applicable, covered projects, including programs described in subsection (e); (2) evaluate proposals for covered projects, including scope, technical specifications, maturity of design, funding profile, estimated costs, proposed schedule, proposed technical and financial milestones, and potential for commercial success based on economic and policy projections; (3) recommend to the head of a program office of the Department, as appropriate, whether a proposal for a covered project will enhance the domestic energy supply chain; (4) (A) conduct reviews of ongoing covered projects, including evaluating the progress of a covered project based on the proposed schedule and technical and financial milestones; and (B) provide those reviews to the Secretary; (5) provide analysis to Departmental leadership to ensure that the Department has a balanced portfolio of investments in covered projects; (6) provide to the Secretary expertise and advice on policies and financial support for manufacturing and energy supply chains; (7) assess lessons learned in overseeing covered projects and implement improvements in the process of evaluating and overseeing covered projects; and (8) conduct outreach and technical assistance to entities that may best utilize the programs or analyses of the Office. (e) Programs described Programs referred to in subsection (d)(1) are the following: (1) The programs authorized under subsections (b), (c), (f)(3), and (f)(4) of section 40207 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (42 U.S.C. 18741). (2) The advanced energy manufacturing and recycling grant program established under section 40209 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (42 U.S.C. 18742). (3) The State manufacturing leadership program authorized under section 40534 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (42 U.S.C. 18814). (4) Programs authorized under title III of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4531 et seq.). (5) The domestic manufacturing conversion grant program authorized under section 50143 of Public Law 117–169 (commonly referred to as the Inflation Reduction Act) (136 Stat. 2044). (6) The extended product system rebate program authorized under section 1005 of the Energy Act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. 6311 note; Public Law 116–260). (7) The energy efficient transformer rebate program authorized under section 1006 of the Energy Act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. 6317 note; Public Law 116–260). (8) The rare earth demonstration facility established under section 7001(c) of the Energy Act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. 13344(c)). (9) Grants provided under subsections (b) and (i) of section 457 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17116). (10) The qualifying advanced energy project credit under section 48C of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as carried out pursuant to agreements with the Internal Revenue Service. (11) Any programs authorized to be carried out by the Office after the date of enactment of this Act. (f) Employees The Secretary may hire or align existing appropriate personnel for the operation of the Office. (g) Coordination The Director shall coordinate with— (1) project management, workforce development, capital programs, acquisition management, and energy information entities within the Department, including the Office of Project Management, the Office of State and Community Energy Programs, the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, the Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy, the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, the Office of Critical and Emerging Technologies, the Loan Programs Office, and the Office of Technology Transitions; (2) the Energy Information Administration; (3) the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; and (4) professional organizations in project management, construction, cost estimation, capital markets, energy information, workforce development, and other relevant fields. (h) Reports The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives an annual report that describes, for the year covered by the report— (1) the activities carried out to implement this section; (2) progress made by the Office to strengthen and scale the clean energy supply chains of the United States through— (A) transformative manufacturing capacity investments; (B) targeted workforce investments to build up the energy workforce of the future; and (C) cutting-edge energy supply chain vulnerability and innovation analysis; (3) a description of the processes and procedures used by the Office to evaluate proposals of covered projects and to oversee covered projects; and (4) any recommended changes to— (A) the processes and procedures described in paragraph (3); and (B) the structure or duties of the Office.