Competitions spur creativity and promise tangible results to address some of the world’s biggest problems
Just over three years ago, engineer and entrepreneur Peter Diamandis took the winners of his Progressive Auto XPRIZE competition on a victory lap through New York City. There was cause for celebration—three teams had each met the competition’s main criteria of building an automobile capable of traveling at least 100 miles per gallon (or the electric equivalent, measured as MPGe).
The biggest winner, however, was the XPRIZE itself. Following up on its triumphant 2004 Ansari XPRIZE for spacecraft development, the nonprofit XPRIZE Foundation had once again laid out a bold challenge and successfully stimulated remarkable results. XPRIZE has four new competitions underway covering ocean science, medical technology and lunar exploration, with several more in the works.
With government funding for science and technology hard to come by, and large corporations increasingly risk-averse, such competitions are a growing source of inspiration to entrepreneurs worldwide.XPRIZE plans to award its biggest prize yet—up to $40 million—by the end of 2015 to a private company that can land safely on the surface of the moon, travel 500 meters above, below or on the lunar surface, and send back two “mooncasts” to Earth. The organization also expects to have three separate ocean-related competitions in play by 2020, in addition to the newly launched $2-million Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE to develop sensors for studying ocean acidification by May 2015.
The foundation is considering dozens of new ideas for future competitions—including one to develop a new method of wireless power transmission and another to explore possibilities for orbital space debris removal.Scientific American spoke with Jason Fagone, a journalist specializing in technology, about what makes the XPRIZE tick and why these competitions have been so successful at sparking innovation. Fagone, author of the recently released book Ingenious: A True Story of Invention, Automotive Daring and the Race to Revive America, about the 2010 Progressive Auto XPRIZE, discusses how these competitions level the playing field for inventors and motivate the development of new ideas—ideas that might otherwise have died quietly in, say, a barn somewhere in Illinois.
[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]
The Latest Google Headlines on:
XPRIZE
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- Kenyan Company could Win XPRIZE for Carbon Captureon May 10, 2024 at 5:01 pm
By Thuku Kariuki and Daniel FurnadA Kenyan-based company, Octavia Carbon, is one of the ten finalists to receive the $100 million grand prize to develop carbon capture technology to mitigate global ...
- Vancouver-based Arca Named as Finalist in Prestigious XPRIZE Carbon Removal Competitionon May 10, 2024 at 7:54 am
Arca, a leader in carbon mineralization technology, announced its recognition as a top 20 finalist in the prestigious XPRIZE Carbon Removal Competition.
- Three Canadian companies among finalists of Musk-funded XPRIZE Carbon Removal competitionon May 10, 2024 at 7:36 am
Three Canadian cleantech startups are among 20 finalists competing for up to $50 million from the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition.
- As Global Warming Soars, These XPRIZE Carbon Removal Finalists Are More Needed Than Everon May 10, 2024 at 5:41 am
The XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition unveils top 20 finalist teams in the $100M competition to develop technology to reverse climate change ...
- XPRIZE’s $100-Million Carbon-Removal Contest Selects Finalistson May 8, 2024 at 11:00 am
A competition to develop carbon-removal technology that is run by XPRIZE and backed by money from Elon Musk has announced 20 finalists. A winner will be announced next year ...
- Canadian carbon firms vie for $100 million Xprizeon May 8, 2024 at 6:33 am
Arca, a company that’s signed a deal with BHP (LSE: BHP; NYSE: BHP; ASX: BHP), is one of three Canadian technology firms in the running for the $100 million Xprize carbon removal competition.
- KELP BLUE NAMED AS A FINALIST FOR THE PRESTIGIOUS XPRIZE CARBON REMOVAL COMPETITIONon May 8, 2024 at 6:00 am
Kelp Blue, an innovative seaweed company that seeks to restore marine biodiversity and promote carbon sequestration to support a healthier ocean ecosystem, was today named as one of 20 finalists by ...
- XPrize names 20 finalists in $100M carbon removal conteston May 8, 2024 at 3:28 am
The carbon removal competition is run by XPrize, a nonprofit that promotes technological development through contests, with money from the Tesla CEO’s Musk Foundation.
- Captura Advances to the Top 20 Finalists in XPRIZE Carbon Removal Competitionon May 8, 2024 at 1:01 am
Building on its success as one of 15 teams awarded a US$1M Milestone Award by XPRIZE and the Musk Foundation, Captura is now working toward the US$50M grand prize to be awarded in 2025 This ...
- 20 FINALISTS ANNOUNCED IN XPRIZE CARBON REMOVAL RACING TO REVERSE CLIMATE CHANGEon May 8, 2024 at 1:00 am
The 4-year $100M competition catalyzed the industry toward game-changing carbon negative solutions LOS ANGELES, May 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- XPRIZE, the world's leader in designing and operating ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
XPRIZE Foundation
[google_news title=”” keyword=”XPRIZE Foundation” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
XPRIZE Foundation
- Kenyan Company could Win XPRIZE for Carbon Captureon May 10, 2024 at 5:01 pm
By Thuku Kariuki and Daniel FurnadA Kenyan-based company, Octavia Carbon, is one of the ten finalists to receive the $100 million grand prize to develop carbon capture technology to mitigate global ...
- Three Canadian companies among finalists of Musk-funded XPRIZE Carbon Removal competitionon May 10, 2024 at 7:36 am
Three Canadian cleantech startups are among 20 finalists competing for up to $50 million from the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition.
- As Global Warming Soars, These XPRIZE Carbon Removal Finalists Are More Needed Than Everon May 10, 2024 at 5:41 am
The XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition unveils top 20 finalist teams in the $100M competition to develop technology to reverse climate change ...
- XPRIZE’s $100-Million Carbon-Removal Contest Selects Finalistson May 8, 2024 at 11:00 am
A competition to develop carbon-removal technology that is run by XPRIZE and backed by money from Elon Musk has announced 20 finalists. A winner will be announced next year ...
- Silicate named top 20 finalist at Musk-funded Xprize competitionon May 8, 2024 at 8:03 am
Silicate has been named as one of 20 global finalists at the Xprize Carbon Removal competition, which is funded by the Musk Foundation.
- Canadian carbon firms vie for $100 million Xprizeon May 8, 2024 at 6:33 am
Arca, a company that’s signed a deal with BHP (LSE: BHP; NYSE: BHP; ASX: BHP), is one of three Canadian technology firms in the running for the $100 million Xprize carbon removal competition.
- XPRIZE Foundation: 20 FINALISTS ANNOUNCED IN XPRIZE CARBON REMOVAL RACING TO REVERSE CLIMATE CHANGEon May 8, 2024 at 5:18 am
M competition catalyzed the industry toward game-changing carbon negative solutions LOS ANGELES, May 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- XPRIZE, the world's leader in designing and ...
- XPrize names 20 finalists in $100M carbon removal conteston May 8, 2024 at 3:28 am
The carbon removal competition is run by XPrize, a nonprofit that promotes technological development through contests, with money from the Tesla CEO’s Musk Foundation.
- 20 FINALISTS ANNOUNCED IN XPRIZE CARBON REMOVAL RACING TO REVERSE CLIMATE CHANGEon May 7, 2024 at 11:57 pm
LOS ANGELES, May 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- XPRIZE, the world's leader in designing and operating large-scale incentive competitions to solve humanity's grand challenges, today announced the 20 ...
- XPRIZE’s $100-Million Carbon-Removal Contest Selects Finalistson May 7, 2024 at 5:00 pm
The carbon removal competition is run by XPrize, a nonprofit that promotes technological development through contests, with money from the Tesla CEO's Musk Foundation. "These companies represent a ...