Researchers at Virginia Tech announced Thursday that their latest breakthrough in hydrogen extraction technology could lead to widespread adoption of the substance as a fuel due to its ease of availability in virtually all plant matter, a reservoir previously impossible to tap.

The new process, described by a study in the April issue of the scientific journal Angewandte Chemie, uses a cocktail of 13 enzymes to strip plant matter of xylose, a sugar that exists in plant cells. The resulting hydrogen is of an such a “high purity” that researchers said they were able to approach 100 percent extraction, opening up a potential market for a much cheaper source of hydrogen than anything available today.

“The potential for profit and environmental benefits are why so many automobile, oil, and energy companies are working on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as the transportation of the future,” study author and Virginia Tech assistant professor Y.H. Percival Zhang said in an advisory. “Many people believe we will enter the hydrogen economy soon, with a market capacity of at least $1 trillion in the United States alone.”

I'm honestly surprised there isn't more fundamental research like this into fuel alternatives.

And battery research. Where is all the basic battery research?

A stable world requires we solve our clean energy needs as soon as possible.

Hydrogen extraction seems way more promising than, say, natural gas fracking.

And anything that gets us off oil sooner is of tremendous importance.

Political leadership would be helpful.

ANY leadership would be helpful.

I can lead in salsa rueda.

That's some fine leadership, Tristan. And some fine salsa dancing, too.