Future vehicles and electric generators powered by fuel cells could eventually run on hydrogen derived from corn. Researchers at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, have come up with an efficient method of converting ethanol, the alcohol produced by the fermentation of corn, into hydrogen fuel.
From the breakdown of biomass to the splitting of water using solar energy, researchers around the world have been exploring a host of renewable sources of hydrogen (SN: 10/12/02, p. 235: Hydrogen: The Next Generation). The main source of hydrogen today is natural gas—a polluting and nonrenewable fossil fuel.