Air Powered Car

[Banjo]

Apparently Tata are bringing out a car ,initially for the Indian market, that runs on a tank of compressed air.It will do 60 mph and a range of about 185 miles on a full tank. They plan on installing refill stations in India (a refill takes 3 or 4 minutes) or it can be refilled in about 3 hours with a built in compressor.

The cost of refilling it is estimated at about 10% of the cost of a diesel/ petrol car per kilometer.
I know the electricity production will produce carbon emmissions but nothing compared to the same emmisions from an internal combustion engine.

Another spin off is that the air coming out the exhaust is very cold and can be used directly to provide aircon for the vehicle with no loss of efficiency and no system gasses required.

Seems to good to be true but I want one (provided my bike fits in the back )

 

[Globalti]

Imagine one of those going pop just beside the Pakistan border....

 

[Banjo]

I wonder if a pedal powered compressor would be viable ?

The great advantage I see is it doesnt need expensive and not very green batteries to run on.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

4350psi in carbon fibre tanks apparently. Uses vegetable oil as a lubricant. 3 - 4 hours to refill (?overnight? but how noisy is the compressor)...


... and it will never get type approval in Europe.

 

[colly]

4350psi in carbon fibre tanks apparently. Uses vegetable oil as a lubricant. 3 - 4 hours to refill (?overnight? but how noisy is the compressor)...
... and it will never get type approval in Europe.

Quite so. Far to many vested interests.

 

[jonesy]

This is interesting isn't it, the idea has been around for a few years now (indeed I think there are compressed air cars in the Running Man) but I've yet seen anything commercially viable. The opposite end of the scale in complexity from electrical vehicles. And compressed air has the same benefit as batteries in that it can be used to store energy there there is a peak in supply, potentially providing a lower cost way to smooth out the fluctuations of wind and solar power.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

and look what the Wikipedia article says....

 

[User482]

I know the electricity production will produce carbon emmissions but nothing compared to the same emmisions from an internal combustion engine.

Not necessarily. I did some calculations for the Nissan Leaf electric car, and found it's little better than the best small diesel cars. It does have two advantages though:

1. The national grid might lower its carbon footprint in the future.
2. No tailpipe emissions, which is important for improved local air quality.

I wonder how using compressed air as an energy storage medium compares to using a battery?

 

[jonesy]

Not necessarily. I did some calculations for the Nissan Leaf electric car, and found it's little better than the best small diesel cars. It does have two advantages though:

1. The national grid might lower its carbon footprint in the future.
2. No tailpipe emissions, which is important for improved local air quality.

I wonder how using compressed air as an energy storage medium compares to using a battery?

Less efficient I'm sure, but that doesn't necessarily matter if it provides a significantly cheaper method of storing peak energy output from renewables and thereby makes it more cost effective for wind and solar to replace fossil fuels.

 

[jonesy]

[QUOTE 1698935, member: 9609"]...

and filled to 4350psi if they are involved in an accident and the tank ruptures - they will end up on the moon.[/quote]

We do drive round with several gallons of petrol in our cars, containing far more energy than in the tank of compressed air...

 

[User482]

Less efficient I'm sure, but that doesn't necessarily matter if it provides a significantly cheaper method of storing peak energy output from renewables and thereby makes it more cost effective for wind and solar to replace fossil fuels.

In theory, but we're nowhere near the level of sophistication we'd need to manage demand and supply in that way.

 

[Ashtrayhead]

Cat bread power is the future!

 

[BigonaBianchi]

I cant think of anything better than filling up drivers around here with compressed air

 

[vernon]

We do drive round with several gallons of petrol in our cars, containing far more energy than in the tank of compressed air...

But it's rate of energy release that makes the difference not the energy content. Petrol tanks do not explode on rupture.

 

[vernon]

I cant think of anything better than filling up drivers around here with compressed air

But they are already full of hot air and bluster if you believe the users of the commuting forum.