That mixture is then fed into a fuel reformer that turns it into a hydrogen-rich gas.

FORBES: Paint Power

Working with scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ArvinMeritor researchers found an answer: the plasma fuel reformer, or plasmatron.

FORBES: Clearing the Air

The plasmatron, whose official name is the plasma fuel reformer, is an aluminum canister about the size of a Big Gulp drink.

FORBES: Clearing the Air

For now ArvinMeritor is marketing its plasma fuel reformer to the commercial trucking industry, which is scrambling to comply with tough new emission laws that are looming in Europe and the U.S. By 2007 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will require a 90% reduction in the amount of soot (unburned carbon).

FORBES: Clearing the Air