# The KEEPS Act: A $500 Million Prize for Better Battery Storage

The KEEPS Act creates a $500 million prize competition run by the National Science Foundation to reward whoever figures out how to store large amounts of electricity for at least 30 days without losing more than 10 percent of it. Right now, electricity has to be used almost immediately when it's produced or it gets wasted. The bill's supporters argue that if someone could solve this storage problem, it would transform America's energy independence and let us rely entirely on clean energy sources like solar and wind, which only produce power when the sun is shining or wind is blowing.

The competition is open to private companies and individuals (including groups working together) as long as they're based in the United States or are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Federal employees and national laboratory workers can't compete. Whoever wins the prize gets to keep all the rights to their invention—the government won't own any part of the technology, though they could negotiate to license it for their own use. The money stays available until someone actually wins, so if it takes years to achieve this breakthrough, the full $500 million remains in the pot.

The bill emphasizes that this prize competition isn't meant to replace regular government research funding into energy storage. It's an additional incentive designed to spur innovation by offering a massive reward for solving one specific, high-impact problem. Supporters believe that even though $500 million sounds like a lot, the economic value of solving electricity storage would be worth far more to every American through cheaper, cleaner energy.

KEEPS Act

Gohmert, Louie

Keep Earth's Energy Prepared and Stored Act or the KEEPS Act This bill requires the U.S. National Science Foundation to carry out a competition to award a cash prize to the first participant to develop the ability to store multi-megawatt electricity for 30 consecutive days with less than a 10% decrease in the electricity stored.