Inventor creates new way of generating energy

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Photos: Atlanta inventor Lonnie Johnson gets a Breakthrough Award from Popular Mechanics magazine for his new JTEC energy converter. He is also the inventor of the Super Soaker water gun.

Atlanta inventor Lonnie Johnson is best known for the Super Soaker water gun he created. Here he shows the prototype of the water gun.

Lonnie Johnson and his new invention -- the Johnson Thermo-electrochemical Converter System -- flew to New York this month to receive an award for one of top 10 inventions of 2008.

The new device won Johnson a Breakthrough Award from Popular Mechanics magazine. Called the JTEC, it generates electricity electrochemically with heat -- for example, solar heat -- as the power source. A chart demonstrates how the JTEC moves hydrogen protons through membranes to generate current.

Lonnie Johnson in his lab. Jerry Beilinson, deputy editor of Popular Mechanics, calles the JTEC "a stunning insight. The magazine honors innovators in its current issue and sponsors the Breakthrough Awards.

Lonnie Johnson holds a lithium battery test chamber in his labs in downtown Atlanta.

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Atlanta inventor Lonnie Johnson is best known for the Super Soaker water gun he created. Here he shows the prototype of the water gun.

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