Sugar-powered cars 'in ten years'

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The first vehicles running on hydrogen made from plant sugar could be on the road in the next ten years, according to scientists.

It comes as scientists believe they have found a way to produce hydrogen from plant sugar.

The research could provide a cheap and efficient source of green transport fuel, meaning that motorists could be filling up on solid starch or cellulose at their local greengrocers rather than fuel at a petrol station.

The new process involves combining plant sugars, water and enzymes to generate hydrogen and carbon dioxide.

Biochemical engineer Dr Percival Zhang, who lead the development team at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, US, said: "This is revolutionary work. This has opened up a whole new direction in hydrogen research.

"With technology improvement, sugar-powered vehicles could come true eventually."

Current biofuels consist of ethanol made by fermenting plant material and combustible plant oils. They are burned in traditional internal combustion engines as alternatives to petrol and diesel.

Plant-derived hydrogen, on the other hand, could provide a more environmentally friendly fuel cell power source.

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