"Crucially, the new plants wouldn't burn natural gas, they'd feed it to solid oxide fuel cells, electrochemical devices that convert the energy stored in the gas into electricity through a chemical reaction that's more efficient than traditional combustion.

"Liquid fuel cells have the potential to give gadget users a longer run time than batteries and provide portable back-up power. But they do require the availability of fuel cartridges which should be recycled to be considered an environmentally friendly choice.

"It's not often that bacteria make water more drinkable, but a new microbial desalination cell does precisely that. The proof-of-principle system removed 90 per cent of the salt from a seawater-like solution."

A scientist at Ohio University has developed a catalyst capable of extracting hydrogen from urine. That's right. Urine. Now you can fill one tank while draining another.