$300 million for ultra-efficient long-life high-power high-mileage car battery

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Plot Device

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At least, this is what McCain wants to see happen.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jfqkglGaJzMm-z8hIuFPKpCqLkwwD91FQ6L81

Sen. McCain offers $300 million prize for new auto battery

By GLEN JOHNSON – June 23, 2008

PHOENIX (AP) — John McCain hopes to solve the country's energy crisis with cold hard cash.

The presumed Republican nominee is proposing a $300 million government prize to whoever can develop an automobile battery that far surpasses existing technology. The bounty would equate to $1 for every man, woman and child in the country, "a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency," McCain said in remarks prepared for delivery Monday at Fresno State University in California.

McCain said such a device should deliver power at 30 percent of current costs and have "the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars."

The Arizona senator is also proposing stiffer fines for automakers who skirt existing fuel-efficiency standards, as well as incentives to increase use of domestic and foreign alcohol-based fuels such as ethanol.

Via this one article, McCain had my vote up until the part about ethanol.



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MattW

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I was thinking of the exact same thing last week - a bounty for innovation in the national interest. It should be tax free though.

John McCain is listening to my thoughts!!!
 

MattW

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Via this one article, McCain had my vote up until the part about ethanol.
Foreign ethanol is ok, but it should be a stop-gap measure. We should not retool the economy to run on ethanol, but for FlexFuel vehicles and places where's there infrastructure - use it to it's fullest. It's one in a portfolio of many options, some which need to be advanced technologically, and never should be looked at as the petroleum killer.
 

mscelina

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Ethanol is a catch-phrase for people who aren't as informed as this forum is. It's a bone tossed out to reassure people that Ethanol is the savior at the pump.

I heard this on the news earlier and though that it was a remarkably well-thought-out plan. The $300 million check should incite enough interest, particularly among financially struggling automotive manufacturers, to get serious work underway on such a thing. However, can you imagine if it's figured out by an individual? *grin* Holy crap! That's one hell of an incentive for all those basement tinkerers out there. If he'd elected, I'd bet fairly good money that batteries will start showing up from the woodwork.
 

Plot Device

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can you imagine if it's figured out by an individual? *grin* Holy crap! That's one hell of an incentive for all those basement tinkerers out there. If he'd elected, I'd bet fairly good money that batteries will start showing up from the woodwork.

Reminds me of the BBC miniseries Longitude.
 

MattW

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I just thought about this more, and I'm wondering what intellectual property rights this kind of government sponsored contest could ensure for the inventor?

I would say the best benefit to the citizens would be a royalty on using the technology or process, but not outright ownership. A big company would research it themselves and keep the rights to charge what they want, ignoring the "contest." A small company or institution could go after the bounty, knowing they might never develop the product for mass-production, or it would eat up more than the $300MM.
 

mscelina

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I'd assume it'd be something like the rights that Kettering (inventor of the electric starter) had with the auto manufacturers. He retained the rights, but they paid to use the technology.

Take the $300 mil and offer the manufacturers the right to use the technology--almost like royalties.
 

clintl

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I think that's a great idea.

However, I think ultimately, hydrogen fuel cells are going to be winning technology.
 

MattW

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I think that's a great idea.

However, I think ultimately, hydrogen fuel cells are going to be winning technology.
My money is on rainbows and unicorn spunk.
 

Don

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As the X Prizes for manned spaceflight show, there's no better way to perform research than to offer a large incentive then get out of the way of those who are capable.

Although I'm not a fan of the government supplying the funding, this is certainly more likely to yield results and tremendously more cost-effective than setting up another NASA.
 

MattW

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Although I'm not a fan of the government supplying the funding, this is certainly more likely to yield results and tremendously more cost-effective than setting up another NASA.
True, and as it is now, research grants from the federal government require lots of paperwork, coddling, and always focus on very narrow scope of research. That's to get upfront money for something that may not even be of value.

$300 million after the fact with few to no strings? That's a good way to spend research funds.
 

James81

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Well, with this he's pretty much got my vote, signed, sealed, and delivered.

I was already teetering towards him anyway.
 

waylander

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On 1 litre of WATER?
I think I need to hear more about the technology behind that one before I'll give it any credence
 

icerose

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This one was invented several years back, also ran on water. The man was murdered after he refused to sell out to the Arabian oil companies, the government came 1 week after his death, seized the car that could run 100 miles on one gallon of water, as well as all his research.

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2007/04/04/the_water_car

There are other sources, this was just the first one I grabbed. You can see his vehicle and him talk about his invention in clips on You-tube.
 

Jcomp

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Is it whoever in the U.S. can develop such a car battery, or whoever in the world? Just curious...
 

waylander

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This one was invented several years back, also ran on water. The man was murdered after he refused to sell out to the Arabian oil companies, the government came 1 week after his death, seized the car that could run 100 miles on one gallon of water, as well as all his research.

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2007/04/04/the_water_car

There are other sources, this was just the first one I grabbed. You can see his vehicle and him talk about his invention in clips on You-tube.

That link didn't work

I presume what is being discussed is generating hydrogen by electrolysis of water then using the hydrogen in a fuel cell - turning it back into water.
Hydrogen powered fuel cells are well-researched and a viable power source for road vehicles.
The problem is you still have to generate electricity for the initial electrolysis. Where does this come from? Conventional sources of electricity generation?
 

waylander

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A Japanese inventor has invented a 2 person car that claims it can go 100+ kilometers on 1 litre of water. They're currently securing the patent and then going to the auto makers for mass production.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jivb7lupDNU

And they aren't the only ones who've made one.


OK I've watched this now and it is clearly a scam. You cannot run a car on 'just water'
 

icerose

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OK I've watched this now and it is clearly a scam. You cannot run a car on 'just water'

The process is not a scam. You can accomplish it in a chemistry lab. What they are doing is getting HHO gas out of H2O. (Yes it's different) it then generates electricity. The initial electrical input is what gets the process going and a simple car battery could do that coupled with an alternator to recharge the battery you have a completely independant system running on water. After all you don't say "My car runs on gas and my battery, because the battery is needed for the starter." You just say your car runs on gas.

Same kind of thing. There's a generator and a battery and water and it converts it into electricity and they certainly aren't the first.
 
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