What is the Green Garage About?

If we look back in the history of inventions, considering mainly the civilian technology start-ups, we will find out that a lot of major success stories including the most famous one of William Hewlett and David Packard, came straight from a garage. The two Stanford University graduates built their first HP’s product right there, in Packard’s garage in 1939.

Today, HP is the world’s largest technology company.

The garage has become a symbol of a triumph of the idea over earthly limitations – evidence that it is not the place that matters, but the belief that you can change the world.

In that spirit, the Green Garage can be viewed as a pro-eco initiative that gives way to different kinds of projects aiming at the invention of cutting-edge green automotive technologies.

Through those garage doors comes hope, with the EcoCar Challenge

When you browse the offers of the vehicles for sale, do they mention the level of tailpipe emissions? Well, why would they, we all know that gasoline-powered cars emit millions of tons of carbon dioxide and other air pollutants into the atmosphere. But that can change in the nearest future.

The U.S Department of Energy together with General Motors have become two major sponsors of the EcoCar Challenge held across the U.S and Canada. 17 universities have been challenged to take part in a three-year program, during which young engineers strive to develop innovative sources of clean energy.

17 teams in 17 garages across North America were provided by the sponsors with all the support needed for such an undertaking: money, technical mentoring, vehicle components and development facility.

Their task is to redesign a 2009 Saturn VUE so as to minimize fuel consumption and emissions. They can experiment, reengineer, cross the boundaries. There are three competition finals: one each year. Yet, all in all, those garage innovators work together to find the alternative sources of energy that would benefit the environment.