Lightning Hybrids and the X PRIZE

Back in March we announced that we were accepted as a contestant in the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE. Since then a lot has happened. Most notably, we have decided to focus all of our efforts and funding on the Hydraulic Hybrids Systems retrofit for fleet vehicles. Which means we pulled out of the X PRIZE competition in mid-August. We still plan to exhibit and still plan to have a 100 MPG sports vehicle on the road in 2012, but we no longer have the distraction and funding drain of the X PRIZE's stringent requirements.


It started at the Denver Auto Show with a bunch of people asking us when we would be creating a retrofit for vehicles. If you have followed this blog you know that we researched the idea of retrofitting vehicles and found that there is a need in the light- and medium-duty fleet truck market for a hydraulic hybrid application like ours that provides games of over 40% in fuel efficiency and decreases carbon emissions by up to 50%. There are over 6 million vehicles in this category in fleets in the U.S. alone!


At the same time we were finding that funding for the LH4 and LH3 was very tight. While our technology is sound, we decided to spend our resources on the retrofit prototypes rather than the cars because the return on investment is under a year for the retrofits compared to a decade or more for the vehicles, even if we were to win the X PRIZE race.


The cars are still a passion, but we know that we have to build a successful retrofit business first before the cars can become a reality.

X PRIZE Update

After being accepted as an official Progressive Automotive X PRIZE participant in January our team is now finally listed on their website as such.

Check it out here.

It's Official

Lightning Hybrids is an official contender in the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE!

In March of this year, the X PRIZE Foundation and Progressive Insurance jointly announced the $10 million dollar Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE. This competition invites teams from around the world to focus on a single goal: design viable, clean and super-efficient cars that people want to buy.

And Lightning Hybrids is going to be one of those teams.

We are excited to participate in this competition with our revolutionary automotive technologies. If you are reading our blog you already know that we have developed a unique and patent-pending biodiesel-hydraulic hybrid vehicle which emphasizes thermodynamic and hydraulic system efficiencies, lightweight mechanical and composite structures, and sports car styling. We know these vehicles can win this competition and look good doing it.

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The X PRIZE race will take place in the late summer of 2010 - a little over a year from now and we have an aggressive plan to win. This is a great opportunity for us to be part of an international event, with significant public exposure and promotion to potential partners, sponsors, investors, manufacturers, distributors and customers.

The competition has tough entrance requirements, stringent judging criteria, and race courses that test and reward manufacturability, marketability, safety, durability and performance. Our vehicles are designed to excel in every one of those areas.

Check back often to learn of our progress towards winning the Progressive Automotive X Prize.

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