An Air Car You Could See in 2009: ZPM’s 106 MPG Compressed-Air Hybrid
Compressed-Air Powered cars could take you over 800 miles on a single fill-up, at speeds of up to 96 mph. They should refuel in less than 3 minutes, and at speeds over 35 mph emit about half the CO2 of a Toyota Prius. Best part? You could see them in the US at the end of next year.
Car-tech aficionados may already be familiar with Zero Pollution Motor’s (ZPM) compressed-air powered car. For those that haven’t heard of it yet, read on:
“The compressed air vehicle is a new generation of vehicle that finally solves the motorist’s dilemma: how to drive and not pollute at a cost that is affordable!”
What happens when you replace the explosions in your car’s combustion chamber with clean compressed air? Well, as long as you lighten things up by replacing heavier parts with aluminum, you end up with a clean, efficient way to power a vehicle.
The world’s first commercial compressed-air powered vehicle is currently being produced by India’s largest automaker, Tata Motors, who is licensing the technology from European-based company MDI (a company powered by the innovation of ex-Formula One engineer Guy Nègre). They anticipate having about 6000 of these vehicles on city streets in India in 2008.
How does an Air Car Work?
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Although potentially revolutionary it really isn’t that complicated. What a compressed-air car does is use the force of super-compressed air to move the engine’s pistons up and down, as opposed to explosions produced from injecting a small amount of fuel.
To get things moving on compressed air, weight reduction is a top priority. MDI’s aluminum-based engine weighs half what a normal engine does, and the frame is also built out of lightweight materials (US version will be aluminum?).
ZPM’s US model will store about 3200 cubic feet of compressed air in carbon fiber tanks at 4500 psi. Carbon fiber tanks are used for safety reasons since they tend to split open (as opposed to explode) when punctured.
Compressed air from the tanks will run directly to the engine under speeds of 35 miles per hour. That means that under 35 mph the car qualifies as a zero emissions vehicle. At higher speeds the engine will burn a small amount of fuel to create more compressed air, sort of like how a plug-in hybrid like the Chevy Volt produces on-the-fly electricity. The hybrid air-car setup should be able use any number of fuels, including gasoline, propane, or ethanol.
1 tank of air + 8 gallons of gas = 848 mile range
The car’s compressed air tank can be refilled in about 3 minutes from a service station. To fill it up at home the car would be plugged in, where an onboard compressor would refill the tank in about 4 hours, at an electrical cost of about $2.
If you aren’t sure whether turning electricity into compressed air is really that clean, here are some numbers: at speeds over 35 mph the air car emits about half the CO2 per mile as a 2007 Toyota Prius (0.141lbs of CO2 per mile, while that the Toyota Prius emits 0.34 lbs of CO2 per mile).
Will we actually see a US-model Air Car in 2009/10?
New York startup ZPM, like Tata motors, has licensed technology from Luxembourg-based MDI. MDI also has plans to release these cars in Europe in 2-, 4-, and 6-cylinder models, starting under $15,000.
Despite lightweight construction that could be of concern for passing US safety tests, it appears that air car technology could be available in the US in late 2009. ZPM told PopularMechanics.com earlier this year that it expects to produce the first US model air car at the end of 2009 or early 2010. (Btw, ZPM’s model is also a candidate for the $10 million Automotive X Prize.)
ZPM wants to produce a 6-seater, 75-hp model with a 1000 mile range at 96 mph, all for just $17,800.
The big question I think we all have is: will this car make it through US safety testing? ZPM’s website says that air car models will meet the same safety specifications of all cars driven in the US. As with most of these new hyper-efficient models we’ve seen (like Aptera’s Typ1 or VW’s 1L Car), ZPM claims the vehicle’s “tubular body provides increased resistance in the event of a crash.” The car will also come with Air Bags and ABS braking.
It’s another case of wait-and see, and we can only hope ZPM follows through.
For more info, check out a great youtube video about air cars (embedded below).
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Posts Related to the Air Car, Hybrid Cars, and Other Vehicles:
- The World’s Most Fuel Efficient Car: 285 MPG, Not A Hybrid
- Aptera’s $26000 Electric Car and 300 MPG Hybrid Coming Soon
- The Cleanest Cars on Earth?: Honda Civic GX and Other Natural Gas Vehicles
- Affordable Electric Cars Coming to US in 2009
- An Electric Car You Can Buy Today: The $20K TRIAC EV
- Clean Diesel Cars Coming to US This Fall: 2008-2010 Timeline
Photo Credit: Zero Pollution Motors
I did a little research on compressors, It would require a 10hp compressor with a 40 or 50 AMP circut to compress air to 4500 psi. They weigh about 500 pounds and cost around $10,000.
I don’t understand the small onboard that fills the tank in 4 hours from a household socket? Why don’t they elaborate on that a little more, or at least show it in the motor diagram?
I have a small 2hp compressor in my shop. The red line on the pressure gauge is 180 psi, and it will pop the circut if plugged into a 15 amp circut. It requires a dedicated 20 amps.
Something is not making sense here. If there is some new technoligy out there regarding compressors I’d like to see a link, so I can learn about it.
From here I don’t see the difference between having to buy a $10,000 compressor, or $10,000 for the batteries to power an true EV. $10,000 would buy you 2500 gallons of gasoline at $4 a gallon. 2500 gallons of gasoline would allow you to travel 75,000 miles if you bought the 30 mpg fleet standard US car. If you bought something like a Yaris or Aveo which is a $10,000 car rated @ 40 mpg you could get 100,000 miles for for the $10,000.
The further advantage of a 40 mpg gasoline car is that one is available today, so you could start reducing our dependance on foriegn immediatly for a $10,000 dollar investment. You can come up with the other $10,000 in interst free installments every time you need a fill up.
With this air car you put out $15,000 up front, and still have to buy 943 gallons of gas to go 100,000 miles (106 mpg X 943 = 99,958 miles.) 943 gallons of gas at $4 per gallon costs $3772.
So far you are about $1200 ahead, unless you include the interest on the additional $5000 borrowed to buy the car. This additional $5000 “could” be earning you interst in the bank. Or if you don’t have $5000 liquid, it would get your 40 mpg Aveo 50,000 miles on the “pay as you need gas plan.”
But you still need electricity to compress the air.
My little 2 hp 180psi 20amp “dims” the lights when the motor kicks in and while it is running it turns my electric meter into a slot machine ringing jackpot for the electric company. Can you imagine if I had to run a 40 or 50 amp 4500 psi for 4 hours to fill the air tank. If we “all” bought air cars we would need a power plant on every block.
I’ts interesting but I am skeptical as to why they are not providing more details on the compressed air and “on board compressor”. It almost seems like they are phishing for venture capital while ommitting an inconvienent truth.
Does the air compressor also function in braking ? Does it use regenerative braking to recharge the compressed air tank?
Sorry, I need to correct my response, as it seems an Aveo or Yaris only gets around 32mpg. I am hoping someone responds that understands air compression and the elecric energy required to compress the air, so I can really determine if you are ahead with this car.
“@ 40 mpg you could get 100,000 miles for $10,000″ needs to be corrected to @ 32 mpg you could get 100,000 miles for $12,500. Both equations are based on spending $4 a gallon for gas.
Also the base price on these 2 cars is closer to $12,500. So the question really comes down to are you going to spend $5000 to compress 118 tanks of air to go 100,000 miles.
If what MDI is saying is true ” you can fill the air tank for $2 worth of electricity, that would mean you only spend $236 on electricity.
I can’t find any technical data on their onboard compresser anywere and this leaves me very skeptical.
I did more research on air compressors and discovered that 4500 psi is used in scuba tanks. Scuba tanks have been around quite a while with a proven saftey record. I could’nt find any record of one exploding in a car related crash while being transported.
A compressor to fill the tanks costs about $3,000 (a years worth of gas for the average driver) I mentioned this as the “on board” is something I would need to see to believe.
I’m sceptical of the company MDI, as you would think they would have mentioned the “scuba tank” to address any saftey concerns in their promo.
To those that say its ugly, I don’t see an actual prototype but see an artists concept rendering, and am sure they are listening to feedback in so far as body styling goes.
This technoligy coming out of France, makes sense since they use Nuclear power to compress the air. In the US coal with CO2 capture could work, using the CO2 to feed algea to create ethanol to power the motor.
France has a great saftey record with Nuclear, and if the US were to build nuclear plants, we would hire them to build the facility.
I love this. It’s a great thing, and I would buy one if they were available.
@Johnsonjohsn : Not all electricity is “dirty”. My sister lives off-grid and all of her house is powered with solar. She could easily upgrade to be able to “fill up” her car once a day too.
I live in Quebec, and all our electricity is hydro powered. Other than the flooding of the area when a damn is initially build (which is obviously a downside) this is very clean power. Read more at techienation.com if anyone’s interested.
Why buy a new car from TATA motors or MDI, when you can convert your existing car to run on air like the A4Z Conversion Kit!
Air4Zero is offering to convert your car to run on air just by replacing a few elements, and you can drive your car with zero cost and zero pollution!
How about that?
People complaining about problems getting compressed air or pollution are thinking inside the box. First you need solar cells that lead to an array of batteries. Those power the air compressor. That’s free energy. OIL IS DEAD!
One question, I read about having air conditioning, but what about in the winter, I don’t mine the heat, its the cold, and how does that effect the compressed air; and, on air compressors you have a relief valve under the tank to let the water that builds up out. More info as to the creature comforts are needed before investment is secured
I am interested in getting an air car exhibit at the Palo Alto Concours d’Elegance in June, 2009 as part of a green car exhibit at that event. Can you furnish contact information for ZPM or MDI so we may get in touch with these companies.
PALO ALTO CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE
William C. Downey
Vendor and Exhibitor Chairman
I belive that this technologies have future global heating minimize. Tanks