Air-Powered Hybrid Cars?
More than ten years ago, a French Formula One expert had an idea. Instead of running cars on the chemical energy of gasoline...why not run them on the physical energy of compressed air? Now that vision is extremely close to reality. Already, prototypes of "The Air Car" are on the road (see videos after the jump) and several companies have licensed the technology.
The idea is that regular old air is compressed in ultra-strong tanks in the car. Then, that air is released through a couple of pistons in the engine, which drives the wheels. Current prototypes get a bit more than one horsepower and can push the cars up to 70 mph for about 120 miles. It's not in any way comparable to something you might go and buy on a dealer lot today. But there are some significant advantages.
For one thing, it only costs about three dollars to fill up the tank. For another, the car has no emissions. In fact, the air coming out is significantly cleaner than the air in most cities. Of course, it will take some electricity (from coal power plants, yes) to compress the air, but the carbon savings are still very significant.
The re-filling process is simple and quick (if your gas station has been retrofitted with ultra-high-pressure air compressors). Several companies, most of them fairly small, have licensed the technology to produce the vehicles. However, one very large company, Tata motors, India's largest car maker, has plans to produce air cars and has released several designs for what they're going to be producing.
Check out a slew of videos after the jump.
