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.
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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
RE:
Air conditioning? — you can route the “exhaust” straight to the vents. The air after it decompresses will be cooled significantly (< 60 deg. F)
power for the compressed air? — assuming worst case scenario, your local power comes from a coal plant, creates only a fraction of pollution that a gas car would. and it only gets better if you local power is generated with solar or wind
death trap? — more light weight cars on road will increase safety for everyone. Europe drives smaller cars and has lower death/mile than US. Crush zones and roll cage make you safer than rigid frames on impact.
rotary engine? — watch the last 3 min of the posted video. that guys engine looks sweet. much more advanced than the French guy (although doesn’t seem as well funded, go figure).
This is absolutely retarded. How is compressed air more efficient than any type of battery out there? All these ‘alternative energy’ or ‘zero emission’ cars are nothing but hype - where do they think the compressed air comes from? It’s simply a different method of storing energy. Instead of using fossil fuels inside the car, fossil fuels are used at the power plant to create electricity, which in turn will compress the air and propel the car. Yay, the car will have zero emissions, but the same energy has gone through more conversions than in a single gas-engine. Now maybe a compressed-air-driven engine *may* be more efficient per se and thus balance out the energy-equation, but the complexity and dangers inherent with storing air at high pressures are just not worth it. Not to mention that you still need a gas engine in the car to make it go any faster than 35mph, which is MOST OF THE TIME.
The ‘zero emissions’ / ‘alternative energy’ car problem has already been partially solved, but the average Joe is just too technically-retarded to understand such things. The solution is to use electric motors which nowadays get 95+ % efficiency! That’s as close to perfect as you can get. What’s with looking into other, weird methods to convert potential energy to mechanical energy? Our electric motors are perfectly well suited for mass-application in cars. The remaining problems are (a) to find an energy storage method that is safe and efficient, i.e. batteries for christ’s sake, and (b) finalize and mass-produce Nuclear Fusion technology to produce enough electricity for the world. Now since (b) is still a ways off, the solution is to mass-produce nuclear fission power plants for which we already have the technology and deal with the nuclear waste until nuclear fusion is ready. As for (a), I admit to it being a more difficult problem than it sounds, but coming up with compressed air BS ideas is not helping in any way!
Out.
Yeah! Can’t wait to put my wife and kids in an aluminum can all to save a few bucks.
I don’t believe in man made global warming so that leaves me looking at this from a safety & economic standpoint. First, this is a glorified scooter just without the need for a helmet. Second, the insurance cost would be ridiculous. Any collision would pretty much total it. Finally, if you did get in a wreck your medical bills would far outweigh any amount you spend in gas.
I read in an unrelated post that the carbon composites used on B2 stealth bombers create very toxic clouds of microdust when they break up. So my question is about the “safer” compressed air tank built of carbon composites. Is it a different material, or is it similar to that used in the B2 stealth bombers? Photos of the responders to the crash in Guam of a B2 show them in full hazmat clothing.
Bri
“death trap? — more light weight cars on road will increase safety for everyone. Europe drives smaller cars and has lower death/mile than US. Crush zones and roll cage make you safer than rigid frames on impact.”
So the fact that Europe drives smaller cars is supposed to directly equate to their lower death/mile rate than the US? Give me a break. First, they have a lower number of cars per household meaning people drive less. Also, the average daily commute is much shorter (ie they are driving in the city at slower speeds). Third, almost every country in Europe makes you take a REAL driving test. You actually have to know what you are doing. These are the reasons for the lower death rate not the car size. You go ahead and drive your tin can. I’ll shed a tear as I go by in my SUV.
So does the air tank explode killing everyone within 1 mile if the car gets into an accident? Just curious.
As much as I like the idea of this technology has anyone considered the actuality of the operation of gazillions of air compressors? The air compressor for the tools at our shop makes a deafening clatter (emphasis on deafening). A small plug-in compressor used to inflate tires is loud and annoying. Running an air compressor at my home for 4 hours would be unacceptable - to me as well as my neighbors and would probably violate city noise ordinances. I don’t know, I have my doubts this will be a viable technology.
Seems like if we can ride bikes & motorcycles on the highway, we should be able to have lightweight energy efficient cars too. Maybe we should start dividing our highway lanes into three parts- big gas guzzlers, electric/air cars/ motorcycles, and then bikes - that way we can all stay safe.
OH YES I WIL DRIVE THIS JUNK ON THE HIGHWAY WITH SEMIS AND LARGER CARS !!!! ARE YOU BRAIN DEAD?????!!!!
Why not learn to ride a bike 50 miles a day and do that back and forth to work, how about having passanger trains in more communities. There’s a lot we can do in the USA. I already have a scooter, micro suv 2007, and bike. I only need to walk to work when I want to, since it’s a mile with in my home (that I own) range. Would I purchase a car that runs on compressed air,yes! My cousion Gecka was one of the mechanical engineers’ in Michigan, he’s retierd now. People here in the’USA’ need to understand things are changing and we need to as well!