Gale Banks joins the Automotive X Prize team
The X PRIZE Foundation looked to Gale for advice on laying down the rules and guidelines for the Automotive X PRIZE. Gale is playing a part in determining the goals of the competition as well as establishing the prize structure.
Gale Banks has long been regarded as an authority on anything automotive related. Got a question on turbochargers? Ask the man whose name is practically synonymous with turbo. Want to know what the future holds for diesel? Go to the man who has been shaping the face of diesel for decades.
This is why the X PRIZE Foundation looked to Gale for advice on laying down the rules and guidelines for the Automotive X PRIZE. Along with a team of fellow performance enthusiasts, scientists and government officials, Gale is playing a part in determining the goals of the competition as well as establishing the prize structure.
“Radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity.”
From the X PRIZE website:
Revolution Through Competition
The Automotive X PRIZE is the latest effort from the X PRIZE Foundation, whose mission is to bring about radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity and whose strategy for fostering innovation is unique. Rather than awarding money to honor past achievements or directly funding research, the X PRIZE Foundation creates high-profile competitions that attract and motivate creative solutions to the grand challenges of our time. The efficiency of an X PRIZE attracts both traditional entrepreneurs and maverick thinkers to compete outside the limitations of government and corporate bureaucracy.
The current system does build advanced concept cars. Some existing competitions showcase extraordinary feats of fuel economy. Unfortunately, neither results in practical solutions accessible to consumers. The Automotive X PRIZE competition will focus on tangible results: the creation of practical, clean and super-efficient vehicles that people want to buy.
Today’s oil consumption is unsustainable, endangering our health and the economic, political and social stability of the world (40% of world oil output fuels the automotive industry).
“The Automotive X PRIZE competition will focus on tangible results: the creation of practical, clean and super-efficient vehicles that people want to buy.”