Every week or so, I get an email from NASA Tech Briefs, regarding items of interest in science and engineering. Much of the time, these are pretty dry and an attempt to sell something. This week, however, two stories caught my eye.

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The first concerns a power technology being developed in Luxembourg--compressed air. The company involved in this, Moteur Developpment International (MDI), is producing hybrid compressed-air/fuel prototypes with a driving range of 2000 Km (that's not a typo--that's about 1250 miles). And what could be a cleaner fuel source than air? They've evidently licensed the technology to India's Tata Motors. This is something worth watching.


The Air Car Link

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The second item is a sugar-powered fuel cell that will run on anything from stale soda to corn syrup. Developed by Shelley Minteer of St. Louis University, this is another technology that bears watching. Who knows? Someday you may be popping sugar cubes into that iPod.


Sugar-powered battery Link