McCain Offers $300 Million for Green Car
John McCain is trying to apply the lessons learned from the X-Prize to presidential politics, and has proposed offering a substantial $300 million prize package to the company that develops a battery that leapfrogs the current technology found in hybrids like the Toyota Prius. That's $1 for every person in the country. McCain also plans to offer a $5,000 tax credit for every zero-emission vehicle sold in the U.S., though there seems to be some confusion as to whether it would go to the consumer or the company. Also unclear is whether the $300 million prize is open to only American companies, which disqualify many businesses with the most advanced engine and battery technology on the market.
Critics have derided the move as a gimmick, similar to the proposal he floated earlier for a gas tax holiday, which would prove to have little benefit for the consumer and would only cost the government tax revenue. They have also pointed out that handing over government money as a prize flies in the face of McCain's stated free market ideals, and past votes in the Senate.
Also of concern is that most current proposals for increasing battery efficiency in vehicles revolve around Lithium-Ion (Li-ion) technology, the same batteries that power our laptops and cell phones. We'd be much more interested in seeing Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries, like those used in the OLPC, scaled up to car size, since they can be recharged more times without degrading capacity, and lack the standard Li-ion batteries' tendency to burst into flames. [Source: USA Today, JohnMcCain.com]
Filed under: Car Tech, Green Tech
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