Sec. 303. Critical materials research and development
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In support of the security and competitiveness of the United States, the Director of the National Science Foundation (in this section referred to as the Director ) shall make awards, on a competitive basis, to institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, or private entities (or consortia of such institutions, organizations, or entities) for the purposes described in subsection (b). The purposes described in this subsection include any of the following: Research and development activities to advance innovative technologies, materials, and techniques relevant to the sustainability, security, and traceability of critical material supply chains, including the following:
Technologies for the manufacturing of critical materials, including innovative equipment applications and industrial decarbonization processes, across processes such as processing, refining, conversion, and recycling. Innovative and emerging materials for improved or new uses within the supply chain, including the following: Innovative alloys, magnets, anodes, and other multichemical compound materials. Qualified substitutes designed to replace part or all of a traditionally extracted critical material within a downstream application.
Byproducts of existing supply chains that may be recovered at sufficient quantities for use. Innovative and emerging downstream applications that— reduce reliance on critical material supply chains subject to disruptions; or reduce or replace part or all of a traditionally extracted critical material. Any technology, material, or technique to promote circularity and sustainability within the critical material supply chain through increasing the reusability of a critical material.
Education and workforce development opportunities to support a robust critical materials workforce, which may include any of the following: Providing training and research opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students to ensure a robust critical material technical workforce. Providing training and other educational pathways to ensure a robust critical material manufacturing workforce through short-term credentials and career and technical education activities, including the following:
Pathways designed to upskill and reskill, as the case may be, the existing workforce. Pathways and emerging trends designed to address workforce shortages, including as a result of skill gaps, of the future workforce. In carrying out this section, subject to the availability of appropriations for such purposes, the Director may establish test beds, pursuant to section 10390 of the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act ( 42 U.S.C. 19110 ; enacted as part of division B of Public Law 117–167 ), to advance innovative technologies, materials, and techniques for the purpose of creating sustainable, secure, and transparent critical material supply chains.
In doing so, the Director shall prioritize the translation and commercialization of the following: Qualified substitutes. Byproducts. Downstream applications using innovative combinations of critical materials, including byproducts, qualified substitutes, or recycled content. Decarbonization technologies, including any such technology that improves sustainability of the manufacturing process for critical materials. Recycling technologies. The Director shall, on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis, make awards to institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations (or consortia of such institutions and organizations, which may also include private entities) to establish partnerships to enhance and broaden participation in fields relevant for education and training for the critical material supply chain.
Awards made under this subsection shall be used for the following: To— conduct training and education activities, including curricula design, development, dissemination, and assessment; and share information and best practices across the network of awardees. To develop regional partnerships among associate degree-granting colleges, bachelor degree-granting institutions, workforce development programs, labor organizations, and industry to create a diverse national technical workforce trained in fields relevant to the critical material supply chain and ensure education and training is meeting the evolving needs of industry.
To facilitate partnerships with employers, employer consortia, or other private sector organizations that offer apprenticeships, internships, or applied learning experiences in fields relevant to the critical material supply chain. To develop shared infrastructure available to institutions of higher education, two-year colleges, and private organizations to enable experiential learning activities and provide physical or digital access to training facilities and industry-standard tools and processes.
To create and disseminate public outreach to support awareness of education and career opportunities relevant to the critical material supply chain, including through outreach to K–12 schools and STEM-related organizations. To collaborate and coordinate with industry and existing public and private organizations conducting education and workforce development activities in fields relevant to the critical material supply chain, as practicable. To coordinate activities, best practice sharing, and access to facilities across the partnerships established in accordance with paragraph (1), the Director shall ensure that activities carried out by the partnerships under this subsection are coordinated to the greatest extent possible.
To the extent practicable, the Director shall prioritize awardees under paragraph
(1)that include entities focused on supporting the creation of a technical workforce relevant to the critical material supply chain, including entities such as associate degree-granting colleges, career and technical entities, workforce development programs, labor organizations, and industry. In carrying out this section, the Director shall collaborate with the Secretary of Energy, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, including facilities such as the National Laboratories, Manufacturing USA institutes, and other federally funded research and development centers, academia, industry, nonprofit organizations, labor organizations, and international partners, as appropriate, to carry out the purposes described in subsection (b). The Director shall ensure awards made under this section are complementary and not duplicative of existing programs across the National Science Foundation and the Federal Government.
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