2. Sugar

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It’s pretty apparent just from a casual stroll down a supermarket aisle that the world is awash in sugar. Rather than ingesting it, and making ourselves more fat and less healthy, researchers at Virginia Tech have a better idea. They are experimenting with ways to convert sugar into hydrogen. Hydrogen can be used to produce fuel cells which can provide energy without producing any pollution at all. Believe it or not, scientists are thinking about the creation of sugar-based batteries that may someday power cell phones, tablet computers and other devices.