How to make your car run on sugar

New York: A new company hopes drivers will kick the oil habit by brewing ethanol at home that won't spike food prices.

E-Fuel Corp has unveiled the "MicroFueler" touting it as the world's first machine that allows homeowners to make their own ethanol and pump the brew directly into their cars.

The portable unit that sells for $10,000 resembles a gasoline station pump and nozzle - minus the slot for a credit card, or the digital "SALE" numbers that whir ever faster at retail pumps as global demand pushes fuel prices to record levels.

Instead of tapping gasoline from an underground tank, the pump's back end plugs into home power and water supplies to make ethanol for as little as $1 (Dh3.67) a gallon.

The company says one of the machine's top selling points is its sweet tooth. It ferments fuel from sugar, the price of which is historically cheap as global supplies are glutted. That means it avoids the reliance on corn - which has been blamed for helping to spike global food prices.

Since table sugar is too expensive, E-Fuel says it will link customers to cheaper surplus supplies, including inedible sugar from Mexico that sells at a fraction of the price.