Nissan shows off revolutionary bioethanol fuel cell

Nissan has announced it has developed a new fuel cell powertrain that creates electricity from a reaction with bioethanol and air.

Called the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell, the new technology is said to be highly efficient at generating electricity and is claimed to give a vehicle powered by the fuel cell a range of more than 600km -- the equivalent of a conventionally-powered petrol car.

The only emission from the reaction between the bioethanol, which can be sourced from sugar cane, is water vapour, claims the Japanese car-maker.

The new tech works by using a reformer to break down bioethanol to source hydrogen.

Nissan hopes the engine vehicle technology will be a hit in Asia, North and South America or any country, like Australia, that grows sugar cane and says commercial vehicles are likely to benefit from the technology ahead of cars.

Meanwhile, in Japan, where the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell has been developed, Nissan says it is experimenting with creating bioethanol by micro-brewing the fuel in domestic homes using garden waste.

This, Nissan hopes, will reduce the need for extensive overhauling of any country's current fuelling infrastructure.

Domestic home-brewing using available waste will also slash running costs and eliminate the CO2 cost of transporting fuel around a country.

There's no word on when Nissan plans to introduce vehicles fitted with Solid  Oxide Fuel Cells. Instead, the Japanese car-maker says it will use the announcement of the new technology to "gather feedback and accelerate development".