Review - HR 6872 Introduced – Hydrogen Port for Ports Act

Last month, Rep Porter (D,CA) introduced HR 6872, the Hydrogen for Ports Act. The bill would require DOE to “establish a grant program to support hydrogen-fueled equipment at ports”. It would also require DOT and DHS to conduct a study on “the feasibility and safety of using hydrogen-derived fuels, including ammonia, as a shipping fuel.” The bill would authorize $100 million in appropriations per year through 2028 to fund the grant program.

This bill is very similar to S 647 (removed from paywall) that was introduced last March. No actions have been taken on that bill beyond assigning it to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation for consideration.

Moving Forward

While Porter is not a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration, her sole cosponsor {Rep Bilirakis (R,FL)}. This means that there may be sufficient influence for the bill to be considered in Committee. The fact that this is an alternative fuel bill and includes $100 million in new spending will draw significant opposition from Republicans. This means that the bill is unlikely to move forward.

Commentary

With both anhydrous ammonia and hydrogen fuels being potential targets of terrorist attack, probably a higher risk than the conventional fuels they are designed to replace, security measures are going to have to be put into place to protect the storage and transfer of these fuels. This grant program should specifically include spending for those security measures as allowable uses for the grant funds. I would revise §2(b)(1) to read:

“(1) the purchase, installation, construction, facilitation, maintenance, operation of, or providing physical or cybersecurity for, as appropriate—"

 

For more details about the provisions of the bill, and its differences from the S 647, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-6872-introduced - subscription required.

Review - S 647 Introduced – Hydrogen for Ports

Earlier this month, Sen Cornyn (R,TX) introduced S 647, the Hydrogen for Ports Act of 2023. The bill would require the Department of Transportation to establish a grant program “to demonstrate hydrogen, ammonia, or fuel cell technologies in maritime and associated logistics application.” The bill would authorize $100 million per year through FY 2028 for the program.

Moving Forward

While Cornyn is not a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, two of his seven cosponsors {Sen Hickenlooper (D,CO), Sen Lujan (D,NM)} are members of the Committee. This means that there may be enough influence to see the bill considered. I see nothing in this bill that would engender any organized opposition to the legislation. The problem comes down to money. While spending reduction is not as important in the Senate as it is in the House this session, it will still be on the minds of the Senate leadership, knowing that a Senate passed bill must still successfully traverse the House to get to the White House.

 

For more details about the provisions of the bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/s-647-introduced - subscription required.

Bills Introduced – 3-2-23

Yesterday, with just the Senate in session, there were 37 bills introduced. Four of those bills may receive additional coverage in this blog:

S 646 A bill to amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to establish a Hydrogen Technologies for Heavy Industry Demonstration Program, and for other purposes. Coons, Christopher A. [Sen.-D-DE]

S 647 A bill to require the Secretary of Transportation to establish a grant program to support the use of hydrogen- or ammonia-fueled equipment at ports and to require the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to conduct a study, together with the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of Transportation, regarding the feasibility and safety of using hydrogen and ammonia as fuels in maritime applications. Cornyn, John [Sen.-R-TX]

S 648 A bill to require the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, to establish a grant program to demonstrate the performance and reliability of heavy-duty fuel cell vehicles that use hydrogen as a fuel source, and for other purposes. Coons, Christopher A. [Sen.-D-DE] 

S 649 A bill to require the Secretary of Energy to establish a hydrogen infrastructure finance and innovation pilot program, and for other purposes. Cornyn, John [Sen.-R-TX]

This is an interesting package of legislation that has obviously been coordinated between Cornyn and Coons. I will be watching these bills for language and definitions that address the security needs of any significant hydrogen technology supporting installation. Hydrogen is one of the DHS chemicals of interest that trigger a Top Screen reporting requirement. It will be interesting to see if this is taken into account in these bills.