By an overwhelming vote of 416 to 6, the House of Representatives last week passed “the H-Prize Act of 2006.” The legislation, introduced would establish a national prize competition to encourage the development of breakthrough technologies that would enable a hydrogen fuel economy. “Hydrogen may be the Holy Grail of transportation fuels,â€? said Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY). “It is clean, it is abundant, and it can be produced here at home. If we are able to overcome the technical barriers that currently block its wide-spread, practical use, the potential payoff will be huge: cleaner air, less global warming, and most importantly, an economy that is not held hostage by foreign regimes or volatile oil markets. There’s no guarantee we’ll get there, but by summoning our nation’s best and brightest to the challenge, the H-Prize will greatly increase our chances of success.â€?

The H-Prize, modeled after the successful Ansari X Prize – which spurred the first privately funded suborbital human spaceflight last year – would help overcome technical challenges related to hydrogen by offering prizes in three categories:

• Technological Advancements – Four prizes of up to $1 million awarded biennially in the categories of hydrogen Production, Storage, Distribution and Utilization;
• Prototypes – One prize of up to $4 million awarded biennially that forces working hydrogen vehicle prototypes to meet ambitious performance goals; and
• Transformational Technologies – One grand prize consisting of a $10 million cash award, funded in whole or in part by federal contribution. Additional matching funds could be awarded for development of wells-to-wheels breakthrough technologies.

H.R. 5143 would authorize appropriations during fiscal years 2007 through 2016 totaling:

• $20 million for the Technical Advancement prizes;
• $20 million for the Prototypes prizes (awards in these two categories alternate each year);
• $10 million for a single Transformational Technologies grand prize; and
• $2 million annually for administrative and advertising costs.

The legislation would direct the Secretary of Energy to contract with a private foundation or other non-profit entity to establish criteria for the prizes and administer the prize contest.
In passing the bill, the House amended the version of the bill that had passed in Committee by:

• Allowing the Transformational Technologies grand prize to be offered only once in the 10-year period covered by the bill, reducing the authorization levels in the bill by $80 million;
• Clarifying that the Technological Advancements prizes do not have to be awarded if there are no significant advances in the two-year period being covered by a prize competition; and
• Requiring the entity that administers the prizes to protect any intellectual property, trade secrets or confidential business information provided by prize contestants.

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