The joint project, initiated in 2005 and still in the experimental stage, developed a prototype carbon dioxide (CO2)-free engine in 2006 that ran successfully without the need for fossil fuels.
The chemical reaction between magnesium (in a powder form) and water at room temperature produces high-energy steam and hydrogen.
The magnesium (a common metallic element) is separated from the oxygen through a solar-powered laser process (the development of which is already well advanced) and is reused over and over again as fuel.
The engine development was led by Professor Takashi Yabe with the help of Professor Ikuta and others of Tokyo Institute of Technology with the cooperation of Ono Denki Seisakusho, K.K., a precision manufacturer located in Shinagawa, Tokyo.
[3] Professor Yabe performed experiments of the technology in 2007 at the Hokkaido Toyako G8 environmental summit hosted in Chitose, Japan.