Quest for energy alternatives heats up

The future of energy is bright in Said Al-Hallaj’s invention lab at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and not just because of the solar window that lies in development on a table.
All around the lab are advanced alternative energy projects that testify to the war on oil that’s proceeding quietly at laboratories and research centers across the country.

A tiny two-passenger electric car stands ready to drive 25 miles on one charge of its custom-designed pack of lithium-ion batteries, not unlike the ones that power laptops. A research assistant who’s working out the kinks on an electric bicycle motors down a hallway at 20 mph, triple the speed of the hybrid fuel-cell scooter developed here.

yahoo