So you think the internal combustion engine is dead? Mazda doesn't.

With some governments around the world thinking about banning gasoline and diesel cars in the decades to come, you could be forgiven for thinking the internal combustion engine is breathing its last breath. But Japanese carmaker Mazda thinks there’s life in the old dog yet, and the company is backing a range of research projects that could see biofuels dispensed from our pumps.

The company, which is well known for its rotary-engined sports cars and the MX-5 roadster, says it thinks algae-based biofuels are “critical” if the world is to make internal combustion-powered cars carbon-neutral. Mazda says that’s because when burnt, algae biofuel only releases carbon dioxide that was soaked up from the atmosphere by the algae as it grew.