Sec. 521. United States Center for Maritime Innovation
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Section 50307(e) of title 46, United States Code, is amended— in paragraph (1), by inserting through the establishment, management, and coordination of geographically and topically diverse maritime incubators after maritime transportation system ; and by striking paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), and inserting the following: The cooperative agreement shall be with an organization or persons with substantial experience in the maritime industry, as determined by the Secretary, in consultation with the Maritime Security Board.
The Center shall be— selected through a competitive process of eligible entities, and if a private entity, a domestic entity; based in the United States with technical expertise in emerging marine technologies and practices related to the maritime transportation system; and located in close proximity to eligible entities with expertise in United States emerging maritime technologies and practices. The Secretary of Transportation shall coordinate with the Maritime Security Board and other agencies critical for science, research, and regulation of emerging marine technologies for the maritime sector, including the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, the Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, and the Marine Board of the National Academies when establishing the Center.
The Center shall carry out the following activities: Establish and support maritime incubators in accordance with paragraph (6). Accelerate the adoption or integration of commercial technologies within the maritime industry to transform the capacity and capabilities of the merchant marine of the United States. Serve as the principal liaison between the Maritime Security Board and maritime incubators. Carry out programs, projects, and other activities to strengthen the merchant marine of the United States and the maritime industrial base.
Coordinate and harmonize the activities of other organizations and elements of the maritime industry on matters relating to commercial technologies, dual use technologies, and the innovation of such technologies. Coordinate and advise efforts among elements of the maritime industry on matters relating to the development, procurement, and fielding of nontraditional capabilities and connect entities developing those capabilities with the relevant incubators. Coordinate with maritime industry stakeholders to identify operational challenges that have the potential to be addressed through the use of nontraditional capabilities, including dual-use technologies that are being developed and financed in the commercial sector.
Coordinate with maritime industry stakeholders and relevant Federal agencies to enhance the capacity and performance of seaports of the United States, including through hardening security, enhancing preparedness, and developing United States-based supply chains for port technologies and equipment. Coordinate with other research and development programs and centers focused on modes of transportation besides maritime to develop intermodal interoperability with the maritime industry.
Develop a standard design for commercial vessels and components and features of commercial vessels to be manufactured in the United States, using mature, proven designs, which— includes, to the maximum extent practicable, included parts, components, and material manufactured in and sourced from the United States; does not include any parts, components, or materials manufactured by foreign entities of concern or which are produced in foreign countries of concern (as such terms are defined in section 4 of the SHIPS for America Act of 2024 ); and includes priorities for design identified in consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, as necessary for strategic sealift, informed by requirements to sustain a wartime economy and military operations.
Lead engagement with industry, academia, labor organizations, and other nongovernmental entities to develop— innovative, commercial, and dual-use manufacturing technologies and processes to construct, rehabilitate, or repair maritime vessels of the Armed Forces or the merchant marine of the United States; additional naval architecture programs at institutions of higher education in the United States and to expand existing naval architecture programs; next-generation propulsion technologies for the merchant marine of the United States, to include small modular reactors, low-emission propulsion technologies, and other renewable energy solutions; new and innovative hardware, software, and systems for remote or autonomous operations at ports, intermodal facilities, or aboard oceangoing vessels; technology and infrastructure solutions that enhance the safe operation of oceangoing vessels to protect lives, property, and the environment; solutions to recruit, train, and retain a skilled workforce capable of supporting a vibrant and growing United States maritime industry; and the capacity of international allies and partners of the United States, with respect to manufacturing technologies and processes, to construct, rehabilitate, or repair maritime vessels.
Work with academic and private sector response training centers and Centers of Excellence for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education to develop maritime strategies applicable to various segments of the United States maritime industry, including the inland, deep water, and coastal fleets. Establish programs and initiatives to share— shipbuilding best practices and maritime technology between vessels of the Department of Defense and commercial vessels of the United States; and port technology and logistics best practices between the Department of Defense and commercial port operators and port authorities within the United States.
Carry out such other activities as the Maritime Security Board determines appropriate. The Center shall, in consultation with the Maritime Security Board, seek out, identify, and support the development of and experimentation with commercial technologies that have the potential to be implemented within the maritime industry, through the establishment of a series of maritime incubators. Each incubator shall reflect the unique nature of the region’s capabilities and academic and investor base.
Incubators shall be— selected through a competitive process of eligible entities, and if a private entity, a domestic entity; based in the United States with technical expertise in emerging marine technologies and practices related to the maritime transportation system; based within a United States maritime security investment zone as defined in section 1400Z–3 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by section 708 of this Act); and topic-specific, according to regional maritime expertise in United States emerging maritime technologies and practices, to include designated incubators focused on— clean energy and alternative fuels; ports and shoreside infrastructure; vessel design and naval architecture; shipbuilding and next generation manufacturing; and other areas for maritime innovation and technology, as determined by the Center in coordination with the Maritime Security Board.
Each maritime incubator shall— serve as the principal liaison between the Center and individuals and entities that can contribute to innovation within the maritime industry, including other maritime incubators under this subsection, entrepreneurs, startups, commercial technology companies, and venture capital sources; and establish and support multi-stakeholder research and innovation partnerships, as described in subparagraph (G). Each incubator shall submit quarterly activity and status reports to the Center.
The Maritime Administrator may, in consultation with the Maritime Security Board, terminate an agreement with an eligible entity selected to lead a maritime incubator if the Administrator certifies that the eligible entity is failing to meet the requirements of this section. If the Administrator terminates an agreement with an eligible entity to lead a maritime incubator, the Center shall initiate a new selection process as required under subparagraph
(C)to select a new eligible entity. Not later than 5 years after the establishment of maritime incubators under this paragraph, and every 5 years thereafter, the Administrator, in coordination with the Maritime Security Board, shall conduct a review of all eligible entities selected to lead a maritime incubator and confirm the entity is adequately fulfilling the requirements of this section. The maritime incubators established under this subsection shall establish and support multi-stakeholder research and innovation partnerships that— have the potential to generate technologies, processes, products, or other solutions that support the United States maritime industry; have as an objective the technology transfer or commercialization of the work product generated by the partnership, which may include work product that incorporates intellectual property developed by the Federal Government and licensed to the partnership in accordance with clause (iii); and incentivize and expand geographically diverse participation in graduate and undergraduate institutions of higher education, community college, and other workforce programs relevant to the maritime industry. Support provided by the maritime incubator to a multi-stakeholder research and innovation partnership under this subsection may include— providing funding or other resources to the partnership; participating in the partnership; providing technical and technological advice and guidance to the partnership; suggesting and introducing other participants for inclusion in the partnership; providing the partnership with insight into desired solutions for defense and security needs; providing access to Ready Reserve ships for testing new technologies and conducting research, as the maritime incubator determines appropriate, in coordination with the Center and the Administrator; and such other forms of support as the Center, in consultation with maritime incubators and Maritime Security Board, determines appropriate. To the extent the Center determines appropriate, the Center, in coordination with the maritime incubators, shall seek to actively inform potential participants in multi-stakeholder research and innovation partnerships of the availability of intellectual property developed by the Federal Government that may be licensed to the partnership. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the SHIPS for America Act of 2024 , and annually thereafter, the Center shall submit to the Maritime Security Board and the appropriate congressional committees a report on the activities, advances, outcomes, and work product of the maritime incubators and the multi-stakeholder research and innovation partnerships supported under this subsection. In addition to the funding contributed under subsection (a)(4), there is authorized to be appropriated, out of the Maritime Security Trust Fund established under section 9512 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2034. In this subsection: The term multi-stakeholder research and innovation partnership means a partnership composed of any combination of 2 or more of the following: Institutions of higher education (as defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1002 )) with research and innovation capability. Nonprofit organizations that provide policy, research, outreach, operations, organizational, management, testing, evaluation, technology transfer, legal, financial, or advocacy expertise. For-profit commercial enterprises that may be publicly or privately owned, early stage or mature, and incorporated or operating by another ownership structure. Centers of excellence for domestic maritime workforce training and education (established under section 51706). Maritime labor organizations. Departments or agencies of the Federal Government with expertise, operations, or resources related to the objectives of the multi-stakeholder research and innovation partnership. State maritime academies (as defined in section 51102(4)). The United States Merchant Marine Academy. National research laboratories with expertise, operations, or resources related to the objectives of the partnership. The term nontraditional capability means a solution to an operational challenge that can significantly leverage commercial innovation or external capital with minimal dependencies on fielded systems. The term maritime industry includes— shipbuilders and ship repair facilities; ship owners; port operators; personnel of the merchant marine of the United States; manufacturers of equipment and technology instrumental to the facilitation of maritime trade and commerce; and other members of the industrial base that support the Navy or the merchant marine of the United States. . A Center for Maritime Innovation established by the Secretary of Transportation through a cooperative agreement pursuant to section 50307 of title 46, United States Code, as of the day before the date of enactment of this Act shall— be deemed to be the United States Center for Maritime Innovation under section 50307 of title 46, United States Code, as of the date of enactment of this Act, with all the authorities granted by such section; and coordinate activities of the Center with the Maritime Security Board pursuant to subsection (e)(4) of such section, as amended by this Act.
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Sec. 521
United States Center for Maritime Innovation
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