It might sound like science fiction, but it is in fact reality, in the form of a new car that will appear on our streets later this year called the Toyota Mirai.

Instead of being filled up with petrol or diesel, the Mirai (the word is Japanese for ‘future’) is powered by the most common element in the universe — hydrogen.

The gas is inserted into the car’s tank just as you might use a petrol pump, and then, through the wonders of a fuel cell — which produces a chemical reaction between the hydrogen and oxygen in the air — it is converted into electricity, which in turn powers the car.

Incredibly, the only by-product of this process is water.