Revving up the MPG Prize

After SpaceShipOne captured the $10 million X Prize for private spaceflight in 2004, the X Prize Foundation shifted gears to target other types of innovation for future prizes

“The X Prize is about changing paradigms,” Goodstein said in today’s release. “The current paradigm is that it’s perfectly acceptable to drive a car that only gets 20 or 30 miles per gallon. This prize is about leveraging cash and opportunity to effect positive change in the environment, economy and geopolitics.”

…He already has a few guiding principles in mind:

* First, the competition would probably be a “first-past-the-post” affair, with a guaranteed winner at the end of, say, three years or so.

* Second, market factors would definitely play a role in deciding who wins. One idea would be to reward the team that achieves the highest product of sales times miles per gallon, or miles per dollar of energy expense.

* Third, the contest would be open to the full spectrum of energy options, ranging from fuel-cell concepts to hybrid-electric “Hypercars” to biofuel-powered cars to hyperefficient gas-powered cars.

“These are all different approaches, but the market really has to validate them. … If it’s hydrogen, great. How many sales are you going to get?” Goodstein said.

MSNBC