You know that times are a’changin’ when the Texans start coming up with revolutionary alternatives to oil, eh? The University of Houston is working on thin film solid oxide fuel cells which offer mucho promise in respect of efficient power production and storage.
‘..the size equivalent of four sugar cubes would produce 80 watts — more than enough to operate a laptop computer, eliminating clunky batteries and giving you hours more juice in your laptop. By the same token, approximately two cans’ worth of soda would produce more than five kilowatts, enough to power a typical household…Inherent to the more efficient design of these ”cool” fuel cells is quite literally the fact that they operate at a much lower temperature than other solid oxide fuel cells, yet do not need a catalyst.’