Recovery Act Announcement: DOE Awards up to $5.5 Million for X PRIZE to Promote Clean, Energy Efficient Vehicles

U.S. Department of Energy
November 02, 2009

Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced that the Department of Energy is providing up to $5.5 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support the X PRIZE Foundation's work to inspire a new generation of energy efficient vehicles. As part of the Automotive X PRIZE competition, teams design innovative, commercially-viable, high-efficiency vehicles that will help break our dependence on oil and stem the effects of climate change. The funding announced today, which builds on a partnership with the X PRIZE Foundation that began in 2008, will provide technical assistance and expand national education and outreach efforts for the competition. The award also supports President Obama's Strategy for American Innovation, which calls on federal agencies to increase their use of prizes as a tool for promoting technological advances.

"Our clean energy future depends on our ability to design and commercialize new highly-efficient vehicles that are cost-effective for consumers and use significantly less energy," said Secretary Chu. "This funding will support cutting-edge, American innovation that can help us fundamentally transform personal transportation and address the global climate crisis."

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