The X Prize Foundation unveiled today a $1.4 million challenge competition to inspire scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to develop innovative new methods for cleaning up ocean oil spills. Teams taking part are encouraged to submit ideas for cleaning up spills or leaks from ships or tankers, land drainage, waste disposal, or oil platforms, the best-known example being the BP/Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
The challenge has two phases …
1. August 2010 to April 2011. Submission of ideas and approaches, where a panel of judges from industry and academia will evaluate proposals on their technical approach, commercialization plan, extent of improvement over current technology (booms and skimmers), extent of environmental impact, scalability and ability to deploy technology, and cost and human labor required for implementation.
2. Proof of capability at the National Oil Spill Response Research and Renewable Energy Test Facility in Leonardo, New Jersey. Up to 10 of the top teams selected by the judges will demonstrate their ability to efficiently and rapidly clean up oil on the ocean surface in a head-to-head competition.
The top team that demonstrates the ability to recover oil on the sea-water surface at the highest oil recovery rate and recovery efficiency will win the $1 million first prize. Second place will win $300,000 and third place will win $100,000.
Wendy Schmidt, President of The Schmidt Family Foundation that advances development of clean energy and supports wiser uses of natural resources, is personally funding the $1.4 million in prize money. She told a press conference today in Washington, DC announcing the challenge, “With more then ten thousands of ocean oil platforms across the globe, and million of barrels of oil being transported every day by tankers, it’s not a question of ‘if’ there will be another oil spill, but ‘when.’”
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