London ( CNN ) -- A tiny nano-sized car which can propel itself forward in response to electrical pulses has been created by scientists in the Netherlands . The electric-powered vehicle , which is the size of a single molecule , has a chassis and four paddle-shaped wheels and is roughly one-billionth the size of a traditional hatchback car . Its maiden journey was n't exactly epic -- six nanometers -- and its fuel-efficiency was n't world-beating either , needing a jolt of 500 millivolts every half revolution of its wheels . But it 's an important milestone in nanotech research ( the science of manipulating matter at molecular scale ) , say scientists , because it demonstrates that single molecules can absorb external electrical energy and turn this into targeted motion . `` To build the nanotechnology of the future like nanorobots , machines and transporters you need something to fuel it . So there is a great incentive to build motors at the nanoscale , '' said Ben Feringa , professor of organic chemistry at the University of Groningen , and one of the authors of the research . `` There are many nanosystems built from all kinds of materials , but this is , as far as we can tell , the first time a nanomotor has been used to propel something by fueling it . '' The fuel in this instance came from a scanning tunnelling microscope ( STP ) with its atom-sized stylus acting as an electrode allowing electricity to flow from its tip to the surface beneath it , Feringa says . `` When there is a molecule , the current goes through it and electricity excites the motor which drives the car forward , '' Feringa said . The discovery , say scientists , takes them a step closer to understanding and ultimately mimicking nature 's highly efficient molecular robots . `` In living cells there are a whole variety of molecule motors that are involved in almost every important biological process like cell division and transport , and mobility in our muscles , '' Feringa said . The world 's smallest synthetic motor was created by Alex Zettl , professor of physics at University of California , Berkeley in 2003 while the first nano car ( without a motor ) was built by James Tour in 2005 . `` The Feringa team is to be congratulated for their excellent work , '' said Tour , a professor of chemistry at Rice University , Texas . `` It will certainly propel the field to a higher level of sophistication with the eventual goal of synthetic molecular machines being used for controlled transport and ex vivo ( in an artificial environment outside an organism ) bottom-up assembly ... '' he added . But it 's still early days and Feringa says he feels a bit like the Wright Brothers , likening the nano car to their `` fairly awkward-looking primitive plane '' when compared to the passenger jets of today . `` It 's very difficult to know where the future will go and ultimately the systems will be different . But first you have to find the fundamental principles . That makes things possible , '' he said . The research , which was completed in conjunction with scientists from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology ( Empa ) is published in the journal Nature .
Dutch scientists built the smallest vehicle in the world . Nano car is the first to be powered by electricity . It traveled a distance of 100 nano meters . Scientists hope nanomotors will power cars of the future .