HOW do you find the most effective technology to solve the world’s energy problem? Think American Idol or The X-Factor: yes, competitions are the way it’s done these days.
On 10 May the US Congress passed a bill authorising a series of prizes of up to $10 million for developing the key technologies needed to make hydrogen fuel cells viable as a way to propel cars. Modelled on the $10 million Ansari X prize that spurred the development of privately funded space travel, the prizes are likely to attract more researchers to the problem than offering ordinary research grants, says…
