Scientists in America have developed a battery that can run off soft drinks.
One of the first uses for the fuel cell battery, powered by almost any type of sugar, could be as a portable mobile phone charger.
The device would contain special cartridges filled with a sugar solution which could be replaced when they were empty.
Researchers at Saint Louis University in Missouri believe their idea could eventually replace lithium in batteries in many portable electronic applications, including computers.
The biodegradable battery contains enzymes that convert fuel - in this case from sugar - into electricity, leaving behind water as a main by-product.
The team has run it off glucose, flat fizzy drinks, sweetened drink mixes and tree sap.
Carbonated beverages appeared to weaken the fuel cell, and the best fuel source they have found so far is table sugar dissolved in water.
Study leader Shelley Minteer has used a postage stamp-sized prototype to successfully run a handheld calculator.
She estimates the battery could be ready for consumers in three to five years, but the American military is interested in using the device to charge portable electronic equipment on the battlefield and in emergency situations where access to electricity is limited.
The US Department of Defence funded the study.
This is 'what they tell you about'. The tip of the iceberg. Be interesting to know what sparked off the idea of using sugar in this way; also to know what technology they have 'in the pipeline' both overt and covert which they don't tell you about!
