So Freeplay and Motorola have devised a range of plug-in pods that allow the FreeCharge base unit to talk to phones from different makers including Nokia and Ericsson as well as Motorola.

ECONOMIST: MONITOR

While hybrid vehicles have been widely available for more than a dozen years, the market for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) has grown rapidly in the last 2 years, reaching more than 120, 000 unit sales worldwide in 2012.

FORBES: Worldwide Electric Vehicle Sales to Reach 3.8 Million Annually by 2020