"Quick math test. If an average passenger car gets 22.5 miles per gallon (or 9.6 kilometers per liter), but only uses about 15% of the energy from fuel to move the vehicle and its passengers and power its accessories, how far could a perfectly efficient passenger car travel on a gallon of fuel? In case you don't happen to have a calculator handy, the answer is an even 150 miles to the gallon (or 63.8 kilometers per liter)—a big improvement. But what happens to the other 85% of the energy? Some is lost to heat. Some is lost to aerodynamic drag. And some forms the basis of entrepreneurial opportunity.

Impactful Idea
As a student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Shakeel Avadhany had plenty of opportunity to consider these facts while idling in Boston area traffic. But it was the infamous Boston potholes that launched his venture, ClearMotion (originally named Levant Power). Bouncing down the street, Avadhany realized that these bumps not only cause headaches, but also cost fuel efficiency. The shock absorbers in his car were turning vibration into lost heat. His solution? Capture the energy. Build a shock absorber that generates electricity for the battery or other uses."