$10m prize to develop jet fuel alternative

Alok Jha
guardian.co.uk,
Thursday July 17, 2008

The X Prize Foundation, which awards prizes encouraging innovation in everything from spaceflight to genome sequencing, is moving into green aviation with $10m on offer for the developer of an environmentally sustainable replacement for jet fuel.
The US Department of Transport (DOT) has awarded the foundation a planning grant of $500,000 through its Volpe national transportation systems centre, in a bid to kickstart innovation in alternative fuels and new technologies.
"The race to refuel American aviation is on and our hope is that the X Prize will jumpstart investment and spur innovation," said Mary Peters, secretary of the DOT.
Sarah Evans, vice-president for communications at the X Prize Foundation, said that the foundation would bring together experts in the aviation and green technology sectors, including representatives from the Federal Aviation Authority's commercial aviation alternative fuel initiative, to hammer out the exact details of the competition, with the aim of announcing final plans in summer next year.
"We hope to achieve new technological solutions in order to lower airborne pollution from air travel and to change public perceptions of what is possible in the field of alternative aviation fuels and technologies," she said.
"Clean fuels and technologies are critical to maintaining our productivity as a society and we are thrilled to receive this funding to explore options for alternative aviation fuels," said Peter Diamandis, chairman and chief executive of the X Prize Foundation.
"In working with this grant, the X Prize Foundation will utilise its comprehensive capabilities in the areas of energy and the environment, including clean fuels, renewable power, efficient homes and buildings and environmental protection."
The first $10m X Prize, for the invention of a reuseable craft that could get into sub-orbital space, was awarded in 2004 to Scaled Composites, the company led by Burt Rutan and supported by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen. Rutan designed and successfully tested Space Ship One, which forms the basis for the spacecraft that will be used by Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic.
Since then, three further X Prizes have been announced for genomics, lunar exploration and the design of more efficient cars.
Evans said the aim of the prizes was to draw in ideas from the widest array of innovators possible, even those working in fields where the specialties are not obviously relevant. "X Prizes are about encouraging maverick thinking, as well as motivating key opinion leaders to solve specific challenges."
Friends of the Earth's aviation campaigner Richard Dyer said: "Aviation is one of the fastest growing sources of carbon dioxide in the world. Urgent action is desperately needed to tackle it.
"New technology has a role to play in moving towards a low-carbon future – and we need to encourage innovators to come up with genuinely green solutions that cut emissions without threatening global biodiversity or food production."
He added: "But urgent government action is also needed to cut the growth in air travel and make the cost of aviation reflect its impact on climate change.
"And the US, along with other nations, must press for international aviation emissions to be included in the post-2012 international climate change agreement."