September 12th, 2007

Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google Inc., aspires “to use the power of information to help people better their lives.” On Sept. 12, the organization announced it will use the power of money to launch a $10 million request for investment proposals to advance sustainable transportation solutions — think plug-in cars.

Google.org is inviting entrepreneurs and companies to demonstrate their best ideas on how they can contribute to this important cause. “We need catalytic investments to support technologies, products and services that are critical to accelerating plug-in vehicle commercialization,” the company said in a statement. “While $10 million is a fraction of the total investment needed to transform our transportation sector, we hope this RFP (request for proposal) will help catalyze a broader response. We need the automakers to bring these cars to market, but plug-in vehicles also need an entire ecosystem of companies to flourish.” You can read more about Google.org’s initiative at:

• Google.org: RechargeIT
• Google.org: Request for Proposal

– Tom Kessler