At the time, Audi s reaction was blunt: the owners were accidentally stepping on the gas, not the brakes.

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The company noted that European coal generation increased 13% in June over the last 12 months as a result of nuclear cutbacks, a knee-jerk reaction to nuclear power given the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan, and higher gas prices, further feeding demand for coal.

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The gas is then fed into a stack of solid oxide fuel cells, where a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen occurs, producing electricity, water vapor and a tiny amount of carbon dioxide.

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