US car manufacturing giant Ford has reportedly developed a supercharged, 6.8 litre V-10 internal combustion engine that runs on clean-burning hydrogen instead of polluting gasoline.

The innovative new technology is likely to give Ford's attempts to gain ascendancy over its rivals in the clean fuel sector a significant boost, whilst further developing the emergent hydrogen economy.

The F-350 Super Duty 4x4 pickup, nicknamed 'Tiny' is understood to have been undergoing several months of testing on the streets of Dearborn.

Importantly, what Ford's new car demonstrates is that clean-fuel hydrogen-powered vehicles do not have to compromise their eco-friendly aspects in order to be powerful, luxurious cars.

The company will be hoping that test data from the truck's demonstration will help to increase commercial demand for hydrogen - a necessary prerequisite in order for the development of an effective infrastructure to deliver the clean fuel can be created.

"If you want to build a hydrogen infrastructure, the way to do it is to get on with building hydrogen fuel systems for cars," said Ray Smith, program leader for energy technologies and security at California's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

"When the fuel cell guys get their economic act together, the transition will be relatively smooth."

Several types of fuel cell produce electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen over a platinum catalyst.