Aline Leon In the last years, public attention was increasingly shifted by the media and world governmentsto the conceptsof saving energy, reducingpollution, protectingthe - vironment, and developing long-term energy supply solutions. In parallel, research funding relating to alternative fuels and energy carriers is increasing on both - tional and international levels. Why has future energy supply become such a matter of concern? The reasons are the problems created by the world s current energy supply s- tem which is mainly based on fossil fuels. In fact, the energystored in hydrocarb- based...