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:
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- 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
Pimp- HA! Just what the world needs…ANOTHER alternative car. Whatever became of the functioning alternatives? Like, say electric. Ironic that it uses CO2. Isn’t that a chemical in Greenhouse gasses?
GO ride a bike.
I received a email from rkgupta@tatamotors.com
Below is a copy of my email:
Dear Mr. Sir,
Thank you for your interest in TATA cars.
We are not manufacturing Air cars please.
Kind regards,
Ravi Gupta
Regional Manager(Latin America)
Passenger Cars-International Business
Tata Motors Limited,
Block-A, Shiv Sagar Estate,
Dr. A.B Road,Worli
Mumbai(India)-400 018
Tel: +91 22 67577212″
So I have no idea what is going on here. You guys email them. See what they say to you.
Malissa
I know it seems like a good idea but there is the problem with temperature. When air is compressed, it gets very hot and brings up the pressure in the container and when it is released, it gets very cold and reduces the initial pressure. that is the reason for the “petrol AND air” car. From 4500psi(300 bar) to about 300 psi, there is a big energy loss from the drop in temperature. It is not a direct conversion. For example: a diesel engine compresses air to about 250 psi which brings the temperature of compressed air to about 700 degrees then burns the fuel to climb up to 2000 degrees and expand the air. Air doubles in volume or pressure every 300 degrees. Don’t quote me on the numbers because I am doing this from memory, but I know that I am in the ball park.This is just to say that there is a big energy waste somewhere in the process.
What about the usable life of the CF tanks? DOT will require periodic hydrostatic pressure testing, which would require removal of the tanks. It is every 5 years for aluminum and steel scuba cylinders. Any firefighters here that know more about CF cylinders?
Great idea, about time someone puts their heads together to come up with an oil-free solution to a vehicle!
BUT
Why does it have to look so DAMN FUGLY?!?!?!?!?!?
Car ‘designers’ of today should all go back to design and engineering class. I mean really. Between toyota, lexus, nissan and honda the whole planet will be looking like it got hit with the ugly stick before long!
Knickerbocker Ice Company in 1932 had electric trucks that delivered ice in NYC, At night they plugged into an outlet and recharge the trucks for next day deliveries. Ir worked. Who got paid off not to use this technology then and now???
Now the air car is coming. France is charging $7500. for a 2 seater and India is charging $2500. for a 2 seater. ZPM will charge $15,000. What a rip off. Greedy companies at work again
They said… Are they considering the amount of pollution produced by a power plant in order to compress the air to start with? I mean it sounds like a nice idea, and maybe it is too good to be true, but air doesn’t compress itself.
And I say, use wind power, the Dakotas, all the way down to Texas. Over there in Western Europe over 50 percent and (I think) in some areas as much as 80 percent of the energy produced is alternative energy. C’mon guys! Y’know all y’have to do is use your head! Quit asking such stupid questions!!!!!!!!!!!!
[...] possibility of an air powered car on American roads by 2009 is looking more and more likely. New York startup automaker ZPM and [...]
Bottom line whats the price? keep the price low and people will change their minds (if they have one). Low cost transportation to work who cares what it looks like its a car not your girlfriend.
What kind of warranty do you get with these cars and I agree they sure are ugly?