The filling station of tomorrow could be able to service electric and hydrogen-fueled cars from not only the same location, but the same pump thanks to a potentially revolutionary breakthrough by chemists at the University of Glasgow. Using nanomolecules suspended in a fluid, the new battery system would not only allow such vehicles to refuel in seconds instead of hours, but can produce either electricity or hydrogen gas on demand.

For decades, engineers have sought an alternative to the internal combustion engine, but have continually stumbled over a number of hurdles. For all their faults, gasoline and diesel are ideal, compact fuels with a very high energy-to-mass ratio. In addition, they are easy to produce and transport, and, at the pump, can refill a vehicle's tank in a couple of minutes.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles offer the benefits of gasoline-powered cars when it comes to filling up in a hurry, but they currently lack supporting infrastructure and aren't as commonplace as electric vehicles, which can take hours to recharge. While both are expected to increase in popularity in the medium term, electric and hydrogen vehicles are incompatible when it comes to refueling, but a new type of energy storage system developed at the University of Glasgow could change that.