Compressed air powered cars are not as far out as they seem. And, while many people think that electric vehicles and hydrogen cars are the only true zero emission vehicles (ZEV), air cars are also in this category (unless of course, you’re using smoggy compressed air to begin with).
Now, much has already been written about the MDI Air Cars, which are being produced in India and set to hit the showroom by this coming August. MDI MiniCat, OneCat and CityCat models have varying degrees of speeds (up to 68 mph) and ranges (up to 125 miles) and come equipped with onboard compressors or can be refueled at gasoline stations that are equipped with air compressors able to go above the 4,000 psi mark.
In 2000, MDI also unveiled its e.Volution compressed air car that was one of the first prototypes. But, MDI is not the only manufacturers of air powered cars and vehicles. Jem Stansfield propels his moped using air power. Engineair of Australia also has come up with their own compressed air engine as has K’Airmobiles. And, a Korean company named Energine has also come out with a pneumatic-hybrid electric engine that uses compressed air for acceleration plus climbing up hills.
Then again, if you happen to be a do-it-yourself type of person, you may just want to convert your existing car to run on compressed air. This project won’t be for everyone, but for those who don’t mind getting their hands dirty in order to clean up the environment, this is another alternative one needs consider.
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When you compress a gas, it heats up, as that heat dissipates it cools and a significant portion of the pressure is lost. That power is gone, forever, as heat dissipated, and that makes compressed gas an inefficient storage medium.