Green Daily

Got a sweet idea that will revolutionize plug-in hybrid or electric car technology? You'd probably be interested to know that, as part of his attempt to market himself as a green candidate, John McCain is putting his weight behind a $300M prize for a battery concept that could warp clean car technology into the future. Last month, McCain unveiled his green campaign gear. This month, he's pulling out the big guns -- a $300M jackpot. In his own words:

"I further propose we inspire the ingenuity and resolve of the American people by offering a $300 million prize for the development of a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars. This is one dollar for every man, woman and child in the U.S. – a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency – and should deliver a power source at 30 percent of the current costs."

Just as in every other area of life, when it comes to the voting booth -- money talks. I'm sure that fact is not lost on Senator McCain. But, aside from just snagging some green votes, a payday of $300M might actually provide some serious incentive to push along developers.

There's no shortage of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle prototypes out there now. One of the biggest problems seems to be that there's no good way to separate the winners from the losers. And what's more, the little guys have trouble getting their ideas to the mass market, no matter how superior their vehicle concept.

[via Ecorazzi]