Progressive Automotive X PRIZE

Flip the Switch for Earth Hour

 

 

The Progressive Automotive X PRIZE places a major focus on affordability, safety, and the environment. It is about developing real, production-capable cars that consumers want to buy, not science projects or concept cars. This progress is needed because today’s oil consumption is unsustainable and because automotive emissions significantly contribute to global warming and climage change.

 

Make a statement of concern about our planet and climate change by participating in Earth Hour on Saturday, March 28, 2009. Individuals, businesses, governments, and communities in over 2,900 cities and towns in 83 countries will switch off their lights at 8:30 PM local time for one hour, wherever they live on the planet earth. In fact, over 829 icons and landmarks around the world – the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing, Big Ben in London, the Empire State Building in New York, the Acropolis in Athens, the Colosseum in Rome, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Sydney Opera House, the Las Vegas Strip, and others – are expected to go dark to show their support.

 

Turn out. Take action.

Progressive Automotive X PRIZE Forum Board Re-Vamp

We are in the final stages of reviewing application and are now beginning to turn our focus to initiatives that can support the pool of registered teams. While the final announcement of accepted teams is still a few weeks away, we are working to launch a few initiatives around this same time. One of these projects includes the re-launch of the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE Forum board.

We took down the Forum board a few weeks ago, as it had begun to lose relevancy with our change in focus. More importantly, the application lacked the robust security that we needed to keep spammers from interfering with the dialogue. We will be launching a new board in the coming weeks, and as we formulate topics, we would love to hear from you. What do you want to discuss? What do you want to hear about from the teams? And, teams, what do you want to be able to share or ask for in a public setting?

Our goal is to make the new Forum board a useful (and spam-free) resource that benefits open dialogue amongst the public and our competing teams. We know that there were issues with the last board, so here is your chance to let us know what you believe can be done to make this new board better.

Commander Andy Karsner

The X PRIZE Foundation was delighted to hear that the King of Sweden is honoring Andy Karsner with the prestigious insignia of Commander of the Polar Star.   Many of you know that - during his tenure as Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Dept. of Energy - Andy initiated DOE's strong and ongoing support of the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE.   And many of you know that Andy has continued to be supportive as a new and active official Advisor to the PRIZE.  

But you may not have known that, as Assistant Secretary, Andy was extremely active internationally as well as domestically.   Among his initiatives were two bilateral agreements between Sweden and the U.S. covering joint developments in biofuels and plug-in electric hybrids.   The King of Sweden is honoring Andy for these and other efforts that have strengthened cooperative developments in the field of renewable energy.   Congratulations Commander Karsner!

Only 1 Day Left in Startup Nation's Elevator Pitch Contest!

Just a quick report that at least one of our Registered Teams has spotted the “2009 Elevator Pitch Contest”, which I blogged about last week, and submitted an entry!

 

You can check out the commercial for NgEK by clicking here: http://www.startupnation.com/elevator-pitch-2009/contestant/5894/index.php.

 

Don't forget, the deadline to submit your own video for Startup Nation's 2009 Elevator Pitch Contest is tomorrow, March 20! If you're an entrepreneur in need of Venture Capital funding, this is a great opportunity.  Just go to http://www.startupnation.com/elevator-pitch-2009 and submit a two-minute video or audio file to pitch your business and your need for investment dollars.  

How Do You Innovate in Today’s Economy?: The incentive2innovate Conference 2009

The X PRIZE Foundation is hosting the incentive2innovate Conference June 8 & 9 in New York City with partner BT Global Services and presented by the John Templeton Foundation and the United Nations. The i2i conference will highlight two powerful and significantly underutilized tools: OPEN COLLABORATION and INCENTIVIZED COMPETITION.  We are bringing together some of the world's greatest innovators to share best practices on how these tools can solve the challenges facing businesses, philanthropy and government. 

We will be welcomed to the conference by Amir Dossal, Executive Director, United Nations Office for Partnerships, and Peter Diamandis, Chairman & CEO, X PRIZE Foundation.  Day One, we will explore how open collaboration and opening doors to the global talent pool helps to power innovation and productivity with a presentation by Don Tapscott, author of Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything and Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing the World.  We will introduce the new McKinsey & Company report on incentive prizes “And the winner is...”: Capturing the Promise of Prizes” with McKinsey partner Paul Jansen followed by a panel discussion moderated by  Matthew Bishop, Chief Business Writer/US Business Editor, The Economist and  Co-Author of Philanthrocapitalism: How the Rich Can Save the World.  Panel participants will include Peter Diamandis on “Making the Impossible Possible” and Dean Kamen, Founder, FIRST and President, DEKA Research & Development Corporation.  Day one will conclude with a keynote address on Open Source Media by Arianna Huffington,  Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief, Huffington Post.

Day two will continue the discussion with presentation tracks in healthcare, energy & the environment, global development and open innovation culture. The lunchtime keynote address will feature Thomas Kalil, Deputy Director, Office of Science & Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President of the United States and the day will conclude with a keynote address by Reid Hoffman, Founder, CEO and Chairman, LinkedIn.

 Registration is open to anyone but space will be limited to 350 attendees.  Sign up now for the opportunity to hear about cutting edge solutions to today’s challenges and a chance for unparalleled networking with your peers.

For more information about the incentive2innovate Conference 2009 and to register:  http://i2i.xprize.org/index.php

 

Join us for a FuelOurFutureNow.com Teacher Workshop!

Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE Registration Update

During the seven month registration period, which concluded at midnight on 2/28/2009, the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE received more than 120 registration applications for participation in the competition.  Almost 80 applications were submitted in the final few days of the registration period! We are thrilled at the level of interest and enthusiasm demonstrated by so many teams worldwide.  

 

For the next 30 days, the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE team will be focused on completing reviews of the documents submitted at the end of the registration period, to determine our final group of competitors.  Having done an initial assessment of nearly 40 applications, I am confident that we will have an amazing pool of teams, vehicles, and technologies vying for the prize.

 

We will inform the teams within 30 days of the acceptance or rejection of their application.  All teams that are not accepted will have a one time opportunity to submit additional information if they wish for us to reconsider the application.  This process has been in place for all applicants since we opened registration. We will not deviate from it, and we expect all applicants to abide by the process and our final decision.

 

The next step for our registered teams is the completion of the Data Submission package.  As we are still determining the final list of competitors, the package will not be available to the registered teams until we have completed the review process and sent acceptance letters to all approved applicants.  Supplying the information to those already registered would provide an unfair advantage in the time allowed to complete the submission.  Please be assured that we have the team’s best interests in mind while we attempt to keep a fair and level playing field for all of our competitors.

 

Thank you for your patience and support during this critical period.  You will hear from us soon with the exciting announcement of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE registered competitors!

Calling All Teams: New Opportunities for Funding and Press

At the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE, we’re always looking for unique and creative ways to promote our teams and their stellar ideas.   This week, we came across two such opportunities, and we invite our teams to check them out:

First up is an opportunity to secure VC funding:

Startup Nation is soliciting submissions for its 2009 Elevator Pitch Contest and is looking for entrepreneurs who seek Venture Capital funding. Just go to http://www.startupnation.com/elevator-pitch-2009 and submit a two-minute video or audio file to pitch your business and your need for investment dollars. The deadline for submissions is March 20, so you’ll need to act fact.

Here’s a little blurb from the site: “This is a great opportunity for you to get on the radar of serious investors. It’s also, at very least, a way for you to learn how to talk the talk and walk the walk that every entrepreneur seeking fund must be able to perform.  The Top 5 Winners will present their business investment opportunity in a live one-hour, online GoToMeeting session to the panel of investors (judges) to seek their investment consideration. The presentation will allow for interaction with the investors in real-time and will enable the winners to convey all of the critical information about their business opportunity.”

For more information, visit the following http://www.startupnation.com/elevator-pitch-2009

A creative way to “have your voice heard”

Also announced this week is a contest to win a featured spot on a new PBS special.  As noted on the site, “Planet Forward" is an innovative, viewer-driven program that debuts on the web first and culminates in a primetime PBS special just a week ahead of Earth Day.  Hosted by Emmy Award-winning CNN veteran Frank Sesno, "Planet Forward" is driven by the power of ideas, as citizens make their case for what they think about the nation's energy future.”

Your submission will be posted online and the best one will be featured on the primetime PBS version of the show.  Find a video explaining the contest, and all entry details at

http://www.publicagenda.org/planetforward/index.html

 

Good luck to you all!

FuelOurFutureNow.com at NSTA

Planning on being at the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) 2009 National Conference on Science Education in New Orleans, March 19-22?

 

 

If so, we invite you to attend a special workshop session, Fuel Our Future Now, on Saturday, March 21, from 8:00 – 9:30 AM CDT at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room 225.

 

Participants will learn how to fuel K-12 student curiosity about alternative energy sources, advanced vehicle design, climate change, and the future of transportation with engaging classroom resources connected to the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE Education Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Come get a sneak peek at a brand-new STEM curriculum, and find out how you can win a free DVD set.

 

Also stop by Discovery Education Booth 242 in the NSTA Exhibit Hall to pick up your free FuelOurFutureNow.com webcard.

We've Got Mail

The postman, UPS, Fed Ex , and DHL all stopped in today (some more than once) and look what they left us...