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1 1 (September 20, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/goveiwc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional ____ ~ Research Service U.S. Technology Made in China: The Role of Federal Technology Licensing Policies September 20, 2022 A recent news report questioned why a potentially revolutionary battery technology discovered at a Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory was licensed to a firm that manufactures the batteries in China. U.S. competitiveness and national security concerns often focus on Chinese acquisition of critical U.S. technologies. This Insight outlines current federal technology licensing policies and agency actions intended to further the domestic manufacturing of federally funded innovations. U.S. Breakthrough Batteries Made in China In 2011, a group of scientists working at DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)-a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) that is managed and operated for DOE by Battelle-developed two innovations in the chemistry of vanadium redox flow batteries that greatly improved their efficiency and viability for grid-scale energy storage. Capable of storing enough energy to power a house, vanadium redox flow batteries have been hailed as a breakthrough in stationary energy storage technology because they may be capable of recharging for up to 30 years without performance degradation. In 2012, Battelle and PNNL entered into a licensing agreement with a Washington state- based firm, UniEnergy Technologies LLC, intended to advance and commercialize 'redox flow' battery technology. According to National Public Radio (NPR), the CEO of UniEnergy Technologies reported difficulty securing capital from U.S. sources to commercialize the batteries and subsequently pursued Chinese investment funds and eventually agreed to sublicense with a company that currently manufactures the batteries in China-a violation of the original licensing agreement. The sublicense has since been terminated. Federal Technology Licensing Policies Technology and expertise generated using federal funding often has application beyond the immediate goals or intent of the original R&D. Congress has established various mechanisms-primarily through the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-480) and the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-517)-to encourage the commercialization of technology and research resulting from federal funds. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN12019 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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