Here in our woman's car insurance office we like to keep up-to-date with all the latest techie news about cars and motoring, and because we're so environmentally conscious we love a bit of news about alternative fuels. So, it was with glee that we discovered the latest alternative to petrol power.
Yes, someone somewhere has discovered that wee can make you go literally - and the science bods behind this revelation believe that, although some years off yet, it may be possible to get a car to run on urine.
The key to this renewable energy source is hydrogen and here comes the science bit technology developers at Ohio State University have found a way to create useful amounts of cheap hydrogen by dipping an electrode into cow's urine.
Hydrogen is the most common element around us, but it's difficult to produce, store, transport or use economically - storing pure hydrogen requires a stable combination of high pressure and low temperature which is not an easy environment to create in the back of family saloon. Scientists are also developing nanomaterials that will have the capability to absorb hydrogen on their high surface areas, but these are nowhere near ready for commercial production.
The key to utilising hydrogen is to bind it with another element thus making it easier to store and release with a minimum of power.
A major component of urine is urea, which handily contains four atoms of hydrogen bonded to two atoms of nitrogen in every molecule, and if you stick a nickel-based electrode into urine then zap it with an electric current hey presto - hydrogen is released.
Small urine powered batteries are already on the shelves in Japan, but the Ohio researchers believe they can make commercially viable versions of the technology for powering larger items.
While some commentators believe the science behind the alternative fuel is not going to work for cars, they can see applications, particularly in farming, where livestock owners could supplement their fuel usage by pooling their animals' effluence and powering their farm buildings with it.
Still, we would like to believe that pee powered cars are a thing of the future. Imagine - making sure your passengers have not gone to the toilet before you set off, so that they can refuel your Punto as you pootle.
And how about all those hours you've wasted waiting in line at the theatre or nightclub for the woefully inadequate toilet facilities with a wee car you could just nip out and refuel your Renault and all those wine spritzers will actually come in handy after all.
Then, when you're completing the policy documents for your woman's car insurance renewal and they ask you whether your vehicle is petrol or diesel you could politely and truthfully reply, "No, it's a urine engine and I'm not taking the
"