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A prototype fuel cell that could turn every household into a mini power station has been developed at Keele University in Staffordshire. Chemist Kevin Kendall and his colleagues have incorporated a ceramic battery into a conventional gas-powered water heater. Free electrons produced by the combustion of natural gas and oxygen are used to create a voltage across a thousand tiny tubes of zirconium oxide coated inside and out with metal alloys. This would provide enough electricity to power an average house. A commercial version costing £500 could eliminate domestic electricity bills, Kendall says.