Legislation to create and fund an “H-Prize” has been re-introduced in the 110th Congress (S. 365, 3 co-sponsors, HR 632, 37 co-sponsors). The bills would “authorize the Secretary of Energy to establish monetary prizes for achievements in overcoming scientific and technical barriers associated with hydrogen energy.”
Prizes would be given in the following areas:
(1) advancements in components or systems related to–
(A) hydrogen production;
(B) hydrogen storage;
(C) hydrogen distribution; and
(D) hydrogen utilization;
(2) prototypes of hydrogen-powered vehicles or other hydrogen-based products that best meet or exceed objective performance criteria, such as completion of a race over a certain distance or terrain or generation of energy at certain levels of efficiency; and(3) transformational changes in technologies for the distribution or production of hydrogen that meet or exceed far-reaching objective criteria, which shall include minimal carbon emissions and which may include cost criteria designed to facilitate the eventual market success of a winning technology.
The federal government not would obtain any intellectual property rights or rights to use the inventions:
SEC. 6. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.
The Federal Government shall not, by virtue of offering or awarding a prize under this Act, be entitled to any intellectual property rights derived as a consequence of, or direct relation to, the participation by a registered participant in a competition authorized by this Act. This section shall not be construed to prevent the Federal Government from negotiating a license for the use of intellectual property developed for a prize competition under this Act.
The funding of the prizes would be $50 million, for fiscal years 2008 through 2017, with the possibility of being supplemented with additional appropriations or private contributions.
The prizes would be limited to private entities that are “incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States,” or individual who are citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. Employees of the federal government or national laboratories acting within the scope of his employment would not be eligible.
A similar version of the bill passed the House of Representatives in 2006.
The main proponent of this prize is Representative Bob Inglis (R-SC), who has this web page on the proposal.