Sen. John McCain is offering a bounty of $300 million for a more efficient car battery for hybrid and electric vehicles — assuming he gets elected. That’s $1 for every person in the U.S. McCain called that "a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency," in a speech at Fresno State University Monday. McCain kicked off a two-day tour of California with the announcement of his proposal — the state with some of the highest energy prices in the country.

The prize would be entirely funded by tax dollars, unlike many of the technology prizes offered recently for other advances. The proposal has already faced extensive criticism, on the grounds that market mechanisms are already pushing car manufacturers towards vehicles that use a minimum of gasoline.

"McCain's idea is to motivate the car companies to do something more. It's all about the plug-in hybrids now, which are trickling into the test market," said Andy Frank, a University of California-Davis professor and pioneer in developing electric-car technology, in an interview with the Mercury News. "They want to stick their toe in before jumping in. McCain is saying, 'Here's some money, jump in now.' "

The proposal also includes offering tax credits — up to $5,000 — to consumers who buy hybrid and electric vehicles, as long as they have zero emissions.

Photo — Chris Dunn