Scientists searching for the ultimate alternative fuel have tried everything from corn to coconuts — and one possibility stands out by addressing some of the problems encountered with biofuels.

But as CNN's Miles O'Brien found out, it's hard to imagine that one day we'll be filling our fuel tanks with this particular alternative.

Glen Kertz believes this is the magic bullet alternative to oil — it's pond scum, but without the pond — and that's what sets his idea apart.

Kertz is flowing, and growing algae through a long-winding journey in clear plastic bags suspended in a greenhouse.

He calls the system Vertigro.

“It keeps the algae hanging in the sunlight just long enough to pick up the solar energy they need to produce to go through photosynthesis,” said Kertz.

The algae grow fast and are siphoned off continuously. The algae oil is extracted and ready to be refined into fuels like biodiesel.

Kertz says he can produce a hundred thousand gallons of algae oil per acre per year.

Compare that to corn — which yields about 20 to 30 gallons an acre — and the Vertigro facility is a long way from the Corn Belt in the desert near El Paso.

“If you take a tenth of the state of New Mexico and converted in solar algae alone this would be all the transportation in the United States,” said Kertz.

Kertz and his team are working full throttle — looking for and patenting — the ideal algae to make fuels.

And who knows? Maybe even an energy drink.

If Vertigro pans out as Kertz predicts we may all be raising our glasses to once lowly pond scum.

A member of the National Renewable Energy Lab says the world is still probably 5 to 10 years away from any substantial use of biofuels.