The car that runs on air
Posted on June 6, 2007
Filed Under Cars |
There is a race among car manufacturers and inventors worldwide to find a replacement for the inefficient and air polluting internal combustion engine. The hybrid gasoline and electric drive train is the first alternative motor that has been commercialized and sold in large volume. But everyone knows that even though the hybrids are better at fuel efficiency compared to traditional vehicles, they are not a technology that will dominate in the future. Many are racing to develop completely new engines, especially ones that do not require the use of gasoline. Air pollution and the loom of global warming and its dire effects on our planet’s climate are the best reason to develop and adopt alternative engines.
A company in France may have the answer. Moteur Developpement International (MDI) has developed a new engine that runs on compressed air. The new vehicles are designed to be lightweight and carry compressed air in carbon-fiber tanks. Refueling takes only a few minutes using a high power air pump which could be located at current gas stations. At home, the car can be refueled by plugging it in and using the on-board air pump over a period of 2-4 hours. MDI claims that the cars will have a range of over 300Km; refueling will cost a fraction of what a gasoline-powered car costs today. And these cars are fast reaching speeds of over 220Km/hour. Better yet, the air car runs clean with zero emissions.
Clearly, the compressed air is only the way of storing energy. We still need to use energy to compress the air. At home or even at the refueling station that energy can be electricity produced by burning fossil fuels at large power plants. The truth is that getting energy out of fossil fuels is far more efficiently done in the large power plants than in a car engine. So in the end the amount of pollutants released in the atmosphere is less. In addition, generating power using renewable resources such as wind and solar will further help in reducing our environmental impact.
I don’t know if MDI’s air car is going to be successful or not. There are other companies also developing new engines that work on compressed air. It is up to the people to realize that in most cases we don’t need to drive a huge car such as an SUV or small truck. Commuting to work can be done efficiently with a small car. Once the population gets out of this mindset of the bigger the better, then alternative cars will make a huge impact in the market and the environment. Maybe will already have the technology that will allow us to prevent global warming. We just need to wake up and start using it.
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it requires electricity to compress the air in the first place. this isn’t “green” or “carbon neutral.” it just moves the pollution to a different point in the chain.
Paul, thanks for your comment.
If you read the second last paragraph of my article you will notice that I do talk about requiring another form of energy to compress the air. This could be green energy, wind or solar or something else.
Cool Idea, and yes, I agree with you that there could be solar stations implemented to run these things in a truly “green” manner. I will say though, do you remember the ford pinto? I can only imagine what these things would do in a severe enough collision to rupture the air tanks. We are talking about some serious PSI here. I think the thing would go up like an Indian rope trick. I think they might be able to make them better protected but that will add weight.
I am guessing that the on-board compressor works like a standard engine, in that a motor spins to move a piston which collects the air in one of the on-board tanks… when electricity is put in, the motor spins right? why is there not a way to make that motor spin when the wheels spin? if there are multiple tanks, one could be filled while another is propelling the vehicle… that would make it 100% carbon neutral, no?
No, that would make it a perpetual motion engine … it’s impossible to make as much energy as you use. However I am sure that the car could incorporate solar cells, not to mention that the home could also have solar cells, small win generators etc., while it wouldn’t be 100% carbon neutral it could get close. However, what’s the big deal about being carbon neutral, there are equally, if not more important reasons for moving away from the ICE.
In any case its a whole @*#$ of a lot better then the internal-combustion engine. Where do you think oil comes from? Its pumped from the ground using electricity, often from power plants that are polluting.
Hey Alpha,
Thanks for the article! I had heard a couple of years ago about buses and small vans in France using this technology. Looks like it’s catching on.
Here’s an application of this air-compression motor technology: use it as a buffer between solar/wind generators and the electrical grid. That is, let wind and solar drive an air pump, and let the compressed air drive an electrical generator. Or even ‘harvest’ tanks of compressed air for use elsewhere.
Might be safer and cheaper than flywheels for energy storage. Buffering is a big issue for wind/solar; check out the “Nightwind Project”.
Take care man, you’re doing good work..
@Sam
I don’t think many people remember the Pinto; those who drove it didn’t survive to tell us their story
This company is struggling with this project since at least 10 years. The car is still not working. Whom are they fooling?
This is a GOOD idea.
I would buy one right now if it was available.
My commute to work is 75km per day total at speeds up to 110 kmh.
Since my home electricity is hydro power, this makes the setup virtually carbon free. Too bad they are not selling in Canada. MUCH cheap hydro electricity here. The fact that it has been in development for 10 years is nothing. I have been watching this project progress for the past 3 years now and am happy that they are now at the market stage.
Thank you for a interesting article. It seems to me that the Europeans have had a much more practical and economical “vision” on transportation for a longer time than American manufacturers. While the technology described may be “an” answer rather than “the” answer, following such technologies will lead to better, safer, and greener methods as they evolve. Certainly to make the process less wasteful and closer to a “perpetual motion” machine, the technology must be followed for long enough to evolve - with something other than the economical bottom line being the prime motivator.
What a great article. Compressed air, often referred to as industry’s fourth utility, has many uses and applications that are well understood. It will be interesting to observe how entrepreneurs from around the world use compressed air product ideas to finally displace the internal combustion engine.
By my calculations, you could only get about 20 miles with a 10 gallon tank compressed to 200bar.