Progressive Wednesday

From A to B on nothing but air

May 31st, 2007 by Eric

Gasoline. Diesel. Electricity. Ethanol. Propane. Methane. Hydrogen. Solar. Biodiesel. Natural gas. Vegetable oil. Air? Yep, air. Ex-Formula One engineer, Guy Negre, has developed an engine that runs on compressed air. Here it is from EcoGeek.org:

The Air Car uses compressed air to push its engine’s pistons. It is anticipated that approximately 6000 Air Cars will be cruising the streets of India by 2008. If the manufacturers have no surprises up their exhaust pipes the car will be practical and reasonably priced. The CityCat model will clock out at 68 mph with a driving range of 125 miles.

Here’s how it works. A lightweight, carbon-fiber, air tank holds 3,000 psi. That air runs the engine at lower speeds, primarily in the city, up to that 125-mile range. At higher speeds and longer distances, most models will adapt by using fuel engine to assist or to refill the air tank, in a similar fashion to today’s gas/electric hybrids. That technology would likely “squeeze” a cross-country trip out of a single tank of air.

There are two refueling options. The vehicles come with a built-in air compressor that plugs in to a standard outlet and takes about four hours to “filler-up.” If you’re lucky enough to drive by an increasingly ubiquitous (in India, at least) custom air pump. All that plus zero tailpipe emissions.

The CityCat model is being developed by the Indian automobile manufacturing company, Tata Motors. With the number of new drivers in India and China skyrocketing, it nice to know that some of them will have zero impact on the environment and won�t contribute much to the global fuel economy. We could afford to take a recycled page from that book on this side of the pond.

It hard to believe that there could be naysayers when it comes to air-powered vehicles, but naysayers there are. Their paper-thin argument is that it still takes electricity to fill the air tanks and that electricity usually comes from burning coal. While true, even at four hours fill-up time the carbon emission and the cost is a drop in the proverbial bucket. And, sure, it’s not exactly vehicular “eye candy,” but that seems like a small price to pay.

As an added bonus, since the process of compressing air creates heat, the exhaust of these vehicles is cold air. A quick redirect of that air into the cabin and…. Ahhh. Plus, no more expensive air-conditioning repairs. This technology is definitely a “breath of fr…., okay, I won’t say it.