If Republican John McCain is elected president of the United States later this year and actually keeps his campaign promise, $300 million could be up for grabs for the automaker that successfully develops a battery that well outperforms the technology currently used in hybrid and electric vehicles. Standards the new battery must meet include delivering power at 30 percent of the current costs, as well as the "size, capacity, cost and power" that will elevate it well beyond what is available on today's market.

The bounty would equate to $1 for every man, woman and child in the country, "a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency," McCain said in remarks prepared for delivery Monday at Fresno State University in California.

"In the quest for alternatives to oil, our government has thrown around enough money subsidizing special interests and excusing failure," said excerpts from McCain's prepared text. "From now on, we will encourage heroic efforts in engineering, and we will reward the greatest success."

Speaking at Fresno State University in California, McCain also announced his plans for a "Clean Car Challenge," that would reward consumers who purchase a zero carbon emission vehicle with a $5000 tax credit. He also noted that incentives were needed to encourage the production of ethanol from sources other than corn and sugarcane, nothing that both offer subsidies. 

Instead of playing favorites, our government should level the playing field for all alcohol fuels that break the monopoly of gasoline, both lowering gasoline prices and carbon emissions," he said.

Those are some pretty lofty ambitions. Should McCain be elected it will be interesting to see if they prove to be more substantial than just empty campaign promises. Watch the video below to see a web ad from McCain talk about his plans for alternative energy sources.

» USA Today