Company looks to bring air-powered cars to US

Breitbart.com ^ | May 25 01:20 PM US/Eastern | DAN STRUMPF

[The_Sword_of_Groo]

NEW YORK (AP) - Most car companies are racing to bring electric vehicles to the market. But one startup is skipping the high-tech electronics, making cars whose energy source is pulled literally out of thin air.

Zero Pollution Motors is trying to bring a car to U.S. roads by early 2011 that's powered by a combination of compressed air and a small conventional engine.

ZPM Chief Executive Shiva Vencat said the ultimate goal is a price tag between $18,000 and $20,000, fuel economy equivalent to 100 miles per gallon and a tailpipe that emits nothing but air at low enough speeds.

Elsewhere in the world, the technology is already gaining speed. The French startup Motor Development International, which licensed the technology to ZPM, unveiled a new air-powered car at the Geneva Auto Show in March. Airlines KLM and Air France are starting to test the bubble-shaped AirPod this month for use as transportation around airports.

Engineering experts, however, are skeptical of the technology, saying it is clouded by the caveat that compressing air is notoriously energy intensive.

"Air compressors are one of the least efficient machines to convert electricity to work," said Harold Kung, professor of chemical and biological engineering at Northwestern University. "Why not use the electricity directly, as in electric cars? From an energy utilization point of view, the compressed (air) car does not make sense."

As Vencat spells it out, the "air cars" plug into a wall outlet, allowing an on-board compressor to pressurize the car's air tank to 4,500 pounds per square inch. It takes about four hours to get the tank to full pressure, then the air is then released gradually to power the car's pistons.

[Onelifetogive]

a tailpipe that emits nothing but air

I'm pretty sure that's a "greenhouse gas" and must be regulated...

[EGPWS]

...compressing air is notoriously energy intensive.

Take a deep breath and exhale.

If you need assistance, nuclear power is cleaner and cheaper.

Political directives however are known to be very expensive.

[biff]

I guess that would be called ‘pooter gear’?

[The_Sword_of_Groo]

compressing air is notoriously energy intensive

i was envisioning getting each of my girls a bicycle pump so they could keep me charged as i was driving down the road.

"Are we there yet daddy?"
"Just a few more pumps!"

[Dallas59]

OH HOW CUTE!!!!(squeels) Lady bug cars!!!!!

[mad_as_he$$]

Industrial strength dumb idea. Compressing air is VERY inefficient.

[EGPWS]

You pedal pusher you. ; )

[tophat9000]

"Air compressors are one of the least efficient machines to convert electricity to work,"

Ironically you might make it work from an energy efficient perspective by using liquid Co2 or dry ice (also Co2) as the compress gas source... fill a pressure tank with a dry ice slushy and apply a little heat to get the gas pressure up

[savedbygrace]

EPIC FAIL²

[usmcobra]

It's a good news/bad news thing....

The good news is it actually works

The bad news is that not only do you look like a total goober driving one around but....

YOU ARE SITTING ON TOP OF A COMPRESSED AIR CYLINDER PRESSURISED TO 4500 PSI

which by the way takes four hours to refill for a 20 mile trip at normal speeds.

If we could hook it up to the average politician we could double the mileage.

[EGPWS]

I'm pretty sure that's a "greenhouse gas" and must be regulated...

Today air isn't however the day will come that a lack of political agenda's will force the idea that air is something that needs to be contained via regulation and taxed to pay for the regulation.

[wastedyears]

Already been done

[EGPWS]

YOU ARE SITTING ON TOP OF A COMPRESSED AIR CYLINDER PRESSURISED TO 4500 PSI

Gosh, THAT'S more than the 3000 psi used for the hydraulics in aircraft. ; )

It wouldn't kill anyone, it's just an all out stupid idea is my point.

[The_Sword_of_Groo]

Thats an excellent point...i keep seeing the end of "Jaws" for some reason.

Laying down the sarcasm for a while, I have a question for the engineers out there. If you were going to run a vehicle on compressed gas, wouldn't it be more efficient to derive that pressure from a chemical reaction? Or would it be unfeasible to put enough chemicals on a vehicle to achieve enough pressure? Probably difficult to regulate i would assume. Any thoughts?

[Fichori]

“YOU ARE SITTING ON TOP OF A COMPRESSED AIR CYLINDER PRESSURISED TO 4500 PSI”

Yeah, so?

I have a hand pump that I use for filling 3,000 PSI paintball tanks.


Of course, getting in a wreak with one of those cars could be rather unpleasant... (hehe)

[wastedyears]

I'm a pedal pusher.

[GeronL]

4 hours to fill the air tank?? 4 hours??

[GeronL]

zero pollution??

and the electricity to compress that air??

[GeronL]

pile in the kids soccer team!!

[RandallFlagg]

That’s what I saw, too.
Like we’re supposed to go to work and pay some kid to work a tire pump in a parking lot for four hours while suppressing their laughter at how stunningly STOOPID this car looks.