Air-power car- arguments

1. We need to be careful (as green-oriented folk) to distinguish between products that reduce emissions vs products that simply transfer emissions somewhere else. It is not true that a vehicle like this has no emissions. The emissions have occurred in the power plant that generated the electricity for the compressor.

If the power plant is fossil-fuel based then it only reduces emissions if the overall energy per mile is lowered. Unfortunately I suspect that the fact that the tax system skews petrol prices upwards vs centrally generated electricity will make the low running costs of this be assumed to translate to low emissions.

What is true is that if this technology is twinned with renewable (eg wind/solar) then it does have great potential. Again unfortunately there is the potential for nuclear proponents to suggest that this is a good way forward, based on it being away to convert nuclear energy into vehicle motion with no emissions. But how green do we view nuclear energy?

2. I have wanted a Mini cat ever since I saw one. But I want to own a Pink one. Is that possible and if you have one in stock please send me pictures. I believe that the Minicat is the new and improved car. It looks cool and saves the earth. But it dosent have a back seat. just kidding if you kno what I mean. Thanks! Katie

3.You hippies won't be happy until we all live in grass huts and ride bikes everywhere. Someone comes out with a new product that is revolutionary to say the least and you tear it down and discredit it as if it was a fraud. Whats really funny is, I don't know a single SierraClub member or "Environ-mentalist" who actually goes out and works in the forests or high country. They very people you bash (4x4 drives, dirtbike riders, etc) are the ones who fight to keep trails open and work hand in hand with BLM and the Forestry Department. If you ask me, the hippies are the real fraud.

4.Isothermal compression/expansion changes availability, thus acting as storage with a tank. The air car uses near isothermal. Like an electric car except less expensive, and no need for new batteries. Hope they get it out!!

BTW, look at www.annualizedgeosolar.com. Their technology for a self-heating/cooling house could be added to an existing house if someone was willing to do the work needed. I'm modifying my own - starting in May, 2005.

5.I have been watching the progress, or lack of it, on the air powered car for some time, but when will it be available? As for the arguement that emmissions are just transferred to the power station, that is stupid, at least at the power station there is the possibility of controlling emmission, this is not so with individual fossil burning cars.

Air car ready for production

The Air Car. The use of compressed air for storing energy is a method that is not only efficient and clean, but also economical. In 1973 CAES (Compressed Air Energy Storage) installed their first compressed air energy storage plant in Germany, making use of natural underground caves for compressed air storage and taking advantage of the surplus energy produced by the generating plants. Later on similar plants were installed in the United States (Alabama and Ohio). Compressed air is an energy vector that can be used, in a viable way, to transport both people and goods. One possible alternative is the air-powered car. There are at least two ongoing projects that are developing a new type of car that will run on compressed air. In this article, you will learn about the technology behind two types of compressed-air cars being developed and how they may replace your gas guzzler by the end of the decade!

Compressed air power car concept worldwide.

PHOTO CAPTION: MDI MiniCat compressed air-powered car is said to go 125-170 miles on 25kWh of electric power and at freeway speeds. Source : http://www.evworld.com

Is it really possible to run a four passenger car or a minivan or a pickup on nothing but compressed air? Developed by Moteur Developpement International, the Compressed Air Engine might just be best thing to have happened to the motor engine in years. And now, one of the first commercial applications for the zero-emission engine, the Air Car, will be starting production relatively soon, thanks to India’s TATA Motors. There’s fuel, there’s renewable fuel, and then there’s uber-renewable fuel- and a car that runs off of air is sure to fall into the third category. Here’s hoping we see these on streets all over the world sooner than later! The French Connection, a compressed air powered MDI MiniCat

Air-power car: Two Cylinder Air-Compression Engine

Two Cylinder Air-Compression Engine Photo courtesy Zero Pollution Motors The e.Volution will be able to travel about 124 miles (200 km) before being refueled with compressed air. Within the next two years, you could see the first air-powered vehicle motoring through your town. Most likely, it will be the e.Volution car that is being built by Zero Pollution Motors, in Brignoles, France. The cars have generated a lot of interest in recent years, and the Mexican government has already signed a deal to buy 40,000 e.Volutions to replace gasoline- and diesel-powered taxis in the heavily polluted Mexico City. Makers of the e.Volution are marketing the vehicle as a low pollution or zero pollution car. However, there is still some debate as to what the environmental impact of these air-powered cars will be. Manufacturers suggest that because the cars run on air they are environmentally friendly. Critics of the air-powered car idea say that the cars only move the air pollution from the car's exhaust to somewhere else, like an electrical power plant. These cars do require electricity in order for the air to be compressed inside the tanks, and fossil fuel power is needed to supply electricity.

The e.Volution is powered by a two-cylinder, compressed-air engine. The basic concept behind the engine is unique (see this page for details) -- it can run either on compressed air alone or act as an internal combustion engine. Compressed air is stored in carbon or glass fiber tanks at a pressure of 4,351 pounds per square inch (psi). This air is fed through an air injector to the engine and flows into a small chamber, which expands the air. The air pushing down on the pistons moves the crankshaft, which gives the vehicle power.Photo courtesy Zero Pollution Motors

Exhaust from the e.Volution vehicle's engine, seen here, will contain no pollutants. Zero Pollution Motors is also working on a hybrid version of their engine that can run on traditional fuel in combination with air. The change of energy source is controlled electronically. When the car is moving at speeds below 60 kph, it runs on air. At higher speeds, it runs on a fuel, such as gasoline, diesel or natural gas. Air tanks fixed to the underside of the vehicle can hold about 79 gallons (300 liters) of air. This compressed air can fuel the e.Volution for up to 124 miles (200 km) at a top speed of 60 miles per hour (96.5 kph). When your tank nears empty, you can just pull over and fill the e.Volution up at the nearest air pump. Using a household electrical source, it takes about four hours to refill the compressed air tanks. However, a rapid three-minute recharge is possible, using a high-pressure air pump. The car's motor does require a small amount of oil, about .8 liters worth that the driver will have to change just every 31,000 miles (50,000 km). The vehicle will be equipped with an automatic transmission, rear wheel drive, rack and pinion steering and a 9.5 foot (2.89 m) wheel base. It will weigh about 1,543 pounds (700 kg) and will be about 12.5 feet (3.81 m) long, 5.7 feet (1.74 m) tall, and 5.6 feet (1.71 m) wide. In October, the e.Volution made its public debut in Johannesburg, South Africa, at the Auto Africa Expo 2000. Zero Pollution said that the car will go on sale in South Africa in 2002, but didn't say when the car would be available in other parts of the world.

World's First Air-Powered Car: Zero Emissions by Next Summer

This six-seater tax, which should be available in India next year, is powered entirely by a tank filled with compressed air.

By Matt Sullivan

Published in the June 2007 issue. India’s largest automaker is set to start producing the world’s first commercial air-powered vehicle. The Air Car, developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy Nègre for Luxembourg-based MDI, uses compressed air, as opposed to the gas-and-oxygen explosions of internal-combustion models, to push its engine’s pistons. Some 6000 zero-emissions Air Cars are scheduled to hit Indian streets in August of 2008. Barring any last-minute design changes on the way to production, the Air Car should be surprisingly practical. The $12,700 CityCAT, one of a handful of planned Air Car models, can hit 68 mph and has a range of 125 miles. It will take only a few minutes for the CityCAT to refuel at gas stations equipped with custom air compressor units; MDI says it should cost around $2 to fill the car’s carbon-fiber tanks with 340 liters of air at 4350 psi. Drivers also will be able to plug into the electrical grid and use the car’s built-in compressor to refill the tanks in about 4 hours. Of course, the Air Car will likely never hit American shores, especially considering its all-glue construction. But that doesn’t mean the major automakers can write it off as a bizarre Indian experiment — MDI has signed deals to bring its design to 12 more countries, including Germany, Israel and South Africa.