Potential Programs of Interest to Higher Education in The Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

Tue, 11/23/2021

On November 15, President Biden signed into law the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which will invest more than $1.2 trillion in roads, bridges, broadband, and related projects over five years, including $550 billion in new spending. Of possible interest to universities, this package includes new spending for climate and energy at the Department of Energy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other agencies. There are also new funding lines in transportation and other infrastructure in this bill. Additional energy and climate measures, and other investments in research and education, are included in the Build Back Better reconciliation package, which is pending in the Senate.

The federal agencies are now focused on implementation. In some cases, the bill adds funds to existing programs which will allow them to move relatively quickly to notice the availability of grants. In others, new programs have been created, which means it will take time to get these programs up and running. Interested researchers should monitor agency implementation and solicitations for finer detail on programs, projects, and eligibility for these programs and projects. What follows is a summary of select programs and provisions that may be of interest to researchers. For a comprehensive summary of the law, please visit: bipartisan infrastructure section by section.

Department of Energy

Most of the DOE funding would support industry and national lab-led projects, but research universities may be able to partner or lead the following projects:

$8 billion for clean hydrogen R&D, with a goal of demonstrating and commercializing the use of clean hydrogen in transportation and other sectors. $3.5 billion to establish four regional clean hydrogen hubs for the production, processing, delivery, storage and end-use of clean hydrogen, $1 billion for hydrogen research and development focused on the commercialization of green hydrogen, and $500 million for the advancement of clean hydrogen production, processing, delivery, storage, and use. (Clean hydrogen is defined in the legislation as hydrogen that produces no more than 2 kilograms of carbon dioxide for each kilogram of hydrogen produced.) Institutions of higher education and national labs are eligible for the clean energy hubs and for clean energy manufacturing and recycling programs.
More than $10 billion for carbon capture, direct air capture, and industrial emission reduction for industries using coal, environmental organizations, and others. $3.5 billion to establish four regional direct air capture hubs, $2.5 billion for a carbon capture demonstration program, and $1 billion for carbon capture technology demonstration. The carbon capture demonstration and pilot program appear to be most promising for higher education, although eligibility is not specified. If there is interest, this may be an opportunity to partner with an eligible environmental organization.
$3 billion for battery processing and manufacturing, authorizing demonstration projects for the processing of materials used in batteries, support for commercial-scale battery processing facilities, and for retrofitting or retooling existing battery processing facilities, with individual grants as large as $100 million. Another $3 billion for a similar program to support manufacturing of advanced battery components and battery recycling. Supports research into battery materials and battery recycling, including a specific research program aimed at improving the recycling and re-use of used electric vehicle batteries ($125 million) and the continuation of the Lithium-ion Batter Recycling Prize ($10 million). Institutions of higher education and national labs are eligible.
$545 million for renewable energy technology – continues the investment in clean energy demonstration projects that were first authorized in the Energy Act of 2020, including solar ($80 million) geothermal ($84 million), and wind ($100 million).
$20 million for building training and assessment centers – a new program at the Department of Energy to establish building training and assessment centers to implement modern, energy efficient building technologies and to invest in career training programs for students to receive certificates to build energy efficient buildings technologies. Institutions of higher education are eligible.

National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration

NOAA also would receive significant funds, with much of its $2.6 billion funding allocated to environmental protection and restoration, including the following activities:

$492 million to improve coastal and inland flood mapping, forecasting, and water modeling.
$150 million to enhance observing systems that gather crucial data about coastal, ocean and Great Lakes environments.
$50 million to improve wildfire prediction, modeling, and forecasting.
$80 million would support research supercomputing infrastructure for weather and climate forecasting.

Transportation

Expands the University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program by providing an additional $95 million over five years to bring the total budget for this program to $500 million. The UTC program establishes federally funded university-based transportation centers for research, education, and training/outreach, with each center focusing on specific themes, like congestion. In addition to expanding the program, the bill includes a new thematic area focused on “reducing transportation cybersecurity risks” and directs a regional UTC to focus on “cybersecurity implications of technologies related to connected vehicles, connected infrastructure, and autonomous vehicles.” It is anticipated that DOT will issue a Notice of Funding Opportunity in early 2022.

Establishes one national and ten regional university-led Transportation Resilience and Adaptation Centers of Excellence (COE), which will focus on advancing R&D that improves surface transportation resilience to natural disasters and extreme weather. Each COE is authorized to receive $10 million annually for FY 2022 through 2031, although funding to start and maintain the new program would need to be provided either by Congress through the annual appropriations process or by DOT shifting funds from other accounts.
Establishes the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Infrastructure (ARPA-I) to fund research and development on advanced transportation infrastructure technologies. ARPA-I would support novel, early-stage research as well as advanced conceptual research into testing and development. (The bill does not provide funding for ARPA-I, but this is a priority for the President, as he proposed the creation of ARPA-I in his FY22 budget.)
$25 million to establish at the Department of Transportation an emerging technology research pilot program, to include advanced and additive manufacturing (3-D printing) technologies, and research into activities to reduce the impact of automated driving systems and advanced driver automation systems technologies on pavement and infrastructure performance and to improve transportation infrastructure design.
$50 million to establish an Open Research Initiative pilot program at the Department of Transportation for universities, nonprofit organizations, and other entities to submit unsolicited research proposals to the Secretary of Transportation. Activities will be coordinated with Energy and NSF.

Department of Homeland Security

$158 million for the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate to support work aimed at protecting critical U.S. infrastructure, such as projects that build resilience to electromagnetic pulses and geomagnetic disturbances.
$135 million for DHS’s Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) for risk management operations, stakeholder engagement, and cyber response and recovery efforts.
$100 million for Commerce, with NSF, to support a critical minerals mining and recycling research program. Institutions of higher education and national laboratories are eligible.

Environmental Protection Agency

$75 million for EPA to study safe drinking water technologies and community needs in the year following bill enactment. Funding is available for investigations, training and informational grants authorized under Section 104 of the Clean Water Act.