A Car That Runs on Air is Coming to India

Tata Motors, India largest automotive company, on Feb. 5, 2007 announced that it has signed an agreement with Moteur Development International (MDI) of France, inventors of the car, to develop a car that runs on compressed air, thus making it very economical to run and be almost totally pollution free. This article in Rediff India Abroad and the MDI website gives further details.

The air engine has 4 two-stage pistons, i.e. 8 compression and/or expansion chambers on one crankshaft. The pistons work in two stages: one motor stage and one intermediate stage of compression/expansion. They have two functions: to compress ambient air and refill the storage tanks; and to make successive expansions (reheating air with ambient thermal energy) thereby approaching isothermic expansion. It has injection similar to normal engines, but uses a special crankshaft and pistons, which remain at top dead center for about 70 degrees of the crankshaft's cycle; this allows more power to be developed in the engine. The engine is powered by compressed air, stored in a carbon-fiber tank containing 90 cubic meters (3178 cubic feet) of air at 30 MPa (4500 psi).

The expansion of this air pushes the pistons and creates movement.  The atmospheric temperature is used to re-heat the engine and increase the range.

The cars have the following characteristics:

• Are light weight vehicle that can reach speeds up to 220 kmph.
• MDI's vehicle's have fiberglass bodies which makes them light, silent urban car.
• The vehicles do not have normal speed gages. Instead, they will have a small computer screen
• Both ends of the seat belt are anchored to the vehicles floor for greater safety.
• The vehicle's uses a patented electric system that makes the car 20 kilos lighter and considerably quieter.
• There are no keys - just an access card that can be read by the car from your pocket.
• In the single energy mode MDI cars consume around US$1.00 (Rs 45) every 60 miles (100 km).
• There is no pollution from the car.
• The vehicle's driving range is close to twice that of the most advanced electric cars (from 200 to 180 miles (300 km) or 8 hours of operation).
• The recharging of the car will be done at gas stations in 2 to 3 minutes at a price of Rs 90, once the market is developed.
• The car also has a small compressor that can be connected to an electrical network (220V or 380V) and will recharged the tanks completely in 3 or 4 hours.
• The car's oil (a liter of vegetable) only needs to be changed every 50,000 km.
• The temperature of the exhaust is between 0 and 15 degrees below zero and can be  used for air conditioning of the car.

The car will be produced in both a single engine compressed air cars, the MiniCAT and CityCAT and a dual engine hybrid, a compressed air engine plus a multi-fuel internal combustion engine.

The hybrid has been conceived as much for the city as the open road and will be available in all MDI vehicles. The engines will work exclusively with compressed air while it is running under 50 km/h in urban areas. But when the car is running at speeds over 50 km/h, the engines will switch to fuel mode. The engine will be able to use gasoline, biodiesel, natural gas, LNG, alcohol, etc. It was not clear whether the air engine would also be used as an ICE or whether two engines would be employed in the hybrid.

Engines will be available with 2, 4 and 6 cylinders. When the air tanks are empty the driver will be able to switch to fuel mode.

The car -- MiniCAT -- could cost around US$8,000 (Rs 350,000) in India and would have a range of around 180 miles (300 km) between refuels. The cost of a refill would be about US$2.00 (Rs 90).

Specifications:

MiniCAT

The smallest and most innovative: three seats, minimal dimensions.

• Airbag, air conditioning, ABS, 3 seats, 1.5 m3. 
• Dimensions: 2.65m, 1.62m, 1.64m
• Weight: 750 kg 
• Maximum speed: 110 kmh 
• Mileage: 200 - 300 km 
• Maximum load:   270 Kg 
• Recharging time:   4 hours (Mains connector) 
• Recharge: 3 minutes (Air station) 

CityCAT

A more spacious car with seats which can face different directions. The vehicle's design is based on the needs of a typical family.

• Airbag, air conditioning, 6 seats. 
• Dimensions: 3.84m, 1.72m, 1.75m 
• Weight: 750 kg   
• Maximum speed: 110 kmh 
• Mileage: 200 - 300 km 
• Max load:   500 Kg 
• Recharge time:   4 hours (Mains connector) 
• Recharge time: 3 minutes (Air station)

Although there is no official word on when the car will be commercially manufactured for India, reports say that it will be sooner than later.

The MDI headquarters are located in Luxembourg while the prototype factory is in the south of France, where 60 people are employed. According to the MDI website "At the moment the construction of the first serial production factory is being completed, at the same location."

Currently licenses for manufacture and distribution have been sold to companies in Spain, Portugal, Brazil, South Africa, India, Great Briton, France and the United States. ZevCAT has the license in the US.

This technology competes with the electric car. The claimed advantage of compressed air over electric storage is that it is less expensive, has a faster recharge time and pressure vessels have a longer lifetime compared to batteries. Both technologies have hurdles to overcome, demonstrating that the air engine/compressed air system is as light, efficient and cheap as available electric motors/batteries. The main issues to me are that the air engine has not been proven to be dependable and advanced batteries are still too expensive.  According to Gizmag the signing of the Tata agreement has made the prospects of very cost-effective mass production are now a distinct possibility. According to Wikepedia: as of March 2007 the Air car is not in production; they have been said to be going into production "soon" since at least 1998. In 2003 Wired had a fairly negative article on the company. An Australian rotary air engine, the Di Pietro Rotary Air Engine, appears to be further along in development and they have a small demonstration vehicle in use.  In retrospect it appears that I should have written this piece about the DiPetro engine, but maybe a later post.

A discussion of the energy efficiencies of an air engine vehicle vs an electric vehicle would breakdown into the efficiency of the air compressor and air engine vs the efficiency of batteries and motors in the electric car, which I am sure the electric car would win. However because of the potentially low initial cost, low maintence cost and low operating cost compared to a fossil fueled vehicle the "air car" could find a niche market if it could be marketed before low cost batteries are available.

Comments

[jcwinnie]

Now that is subtle, Jim. A true, albeit implausible, story released on April 1.

Note to Self: Never gamble with Fraser.

[Frank J. Heller]

Will INDIA's impressive technology feats cease to amaze us?

I am currently planning workshop to redesign a large 4,000 acre navy base that is being closed. One topic of interest is a 'village' tansport. system that is friendly to Electric Vehicles.

If this car works, it would eclipse the current crop of electric vehicle and erase the threat from hydrogen explosions and leaks.

Can' wait to see reviews of the prototypes.

[Guy Houseman]

Unlike batteries of course which get hot to some extent at least when charged AND discharged there is rarely a need for heat in a 'car' but often a need for cooling even if only for the logic that decompressing air provides.

Now of course you could have a vacuum to store the energy as well and that would have the advantage of weighing less after eating a big breakfast and only gaining weight on the way to work so if you skip lunch and use the restroom and don't remove the air taken on at work 'you' will be even lighter on the way home.

I recently witnessed my city transportation director defend steel wheeled fixed track boondoggling by saying that the alternative was to use heat engines as if tracked public transit has ANYTHING at all to do with the 'energy' utilised or the motors.

Global whatever after all has more to do with how then how much is 'used.' Air can be plumbed. It was good enough to move paper in buildings yesteryear and still in many so dismissing it as the 'chain' in 'subway' or above ground tubed routes is silly.

Air has many advantages chief among them that it is a natural analog device. The comments previous to this this week or so about large scale underground 'load' ''managing'' storage possibilities did digress into valuable theory not adequately integrated at least not for me so far in my glancing at it.

By natural analog device I mean that to move a bullet from one end of a tube to another you only have to put stuff in one end, and just enough so that the stuff in the other end brings the projectile to a perfectly smooth stop. Note that like steam turbines a combination of pressure on one side (compared to atmosphere around plant) and negative pressure on the other does the work.

Air cannons could of course launch any of us with great precision across any city to any landing spot all coordinated so as to avoid collisions. Air is after all not only the means of storage but the medium through which we must pass if in a unprotected route. Like batteries it is silly to think about carrying the energy or the air on board.

That's what a path is for. Rubber tired vehicles whether personal, individual, and/or shared need not carry there own energy whether levitational, wheeled, jumping or whatever they only need to have access to energy when accelerating and negligibly (say from solar panels) to maintain speed if for some reason a steady speed is needed (in realty steady speeds are inherently wasteful for MANY reasons beyond continous consumption being the price).

The problem is as always the refusal to either invest in the vehicle or the road.... The harvesting of absurd profit and tax instead of delivering of transportation from what the transported suffers in cost.

There is a cost to get from one place to another and we have always paid far too much to do it. India and other places will not inflict the necessity to do it without actual reason if there atom bomb gives them the ability to be so free. Some run, others walk, Iran should not be forced to talk alone.

[Chriswaterguy]

Not an April fools joke - it's been around for ages. In 2000 there's this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/988265.stm - wonder what happened to that.

See also http://www.theaircar.com/ (commercial site) which also mentions the Indian deal,and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_car.

[Antiquated Tory]

The post might not have been an April Fool's joke, but I'm not so sure about some of the comments...

[Paul Dietz]

I had about given up on MDI, but maybe there's still some life in their concept. India would seem to be one of the better places for a car that has problems providing heat.

[donb]

If I did the math right, assuming isothermal expansion and ideal gas, the air tank holds about 2.6 kWH of energy.

Relying on memory, it seems that the Tesla roadster can to 3 to 4 miles on a kWH of energy, so this would be about 10 miles.

[GreyFlcn]

Air cars are stupid.
The energy density just isn't there.

But what does make sense is using COMPRESSED AIR to store electricity for the grid.
(Which can then feed electric cars)

So yeah, they got it backwards.

[JohnBo]

I'm concerned that if there were a lot of these air cars all pumping air into their tanks the atmosphere would collapse. We would toss the earth into Global cooling and Al would have to write another foolish book. Oh boy, another man made disaster for the nuts to proclaim...haha. JohnBo

[Harvey D.]

Ten miles (16 Km) on fresh AIR is a fair flying carpet. Three air tanks could take the average person to work and back.

[Jonathan Gaines]

The Air Car, is it for real? If Tata Motors of India signs a development agreement, this is a good sign as they are in business to make money. If one or two engineers with automotive background are available to study the Air Car and say either it is, or is not feasible, that would help a lot. Then of course I wonder if the big auto makers, gas/ oil companies, etc. who have trillions of dollars tied up in oil's potential cash flow would ever let the Air Car see the light of day. Remember GM's EV 1 electric car and the zero emmisions mandate in California. They are heavy heavy dudes with a long reach.

[T.S. Seshadri]

The electric motor is more efficient than the car using compressed air. I have a vehicle which can run on battery and trolley wire electric traction. You start your battery powered car from your house, main roads you use trolley wire traction with the help of a collapsible pole on the top of the car. The trolley wire traction is laid straight on each lane on main roads. For turnings, overtaking and parking you use battery power. All the limitations in the battery alone car is set right. This is a dual powered vehicle ( Three wheelers and above only )using battery and trolley wire electric traction power. Patented in India.

[T.S. Seshadri]

I have a dual powered electric vehicle ( Three Wheelers and above )which can run on battery and trolley wire electric traction.This is more efficient than the compressed air powered car.You start with battery power from your house, main roads you use trolley wire traction in stright lanes with the help of a collapsible pole fixed on top of the vehicle.For turnings, overtaking and parking use battery power. The limitations of the battery alone powered vehicle is set right.Batteries are charged while using trolley wire traction.

[sudhakar]

respected sir:
sir it controlled air pollution and it reduce the fuel using capacity so how quick it came that much indian economically strong so please bring the air caar as quick as possible

[T.S. Seshadri]

Dear Sudhakar, You have mentioned about air car. Actually my concept is for a car using only electricity as an energy source. For More details contact me on ts_seshadri@rediffmail.com

[iknowall]

Search for in all major search engines simultaneously on the site http://www.iknowall.com.
Simultaneous search on Google, Yahoo and MSN Live Search.

Try http://www.iknowall.com

[aditya]

hi i want to know details of engine of a compressed air car.

[dhruva]

how can we make a car running by wind energy?

['pants]

I'd sooner believe in the viability of a car run by a large mainspring. REALLY. The efficiency of compressing air to use as a motivator is TERRIBLE, so whether it is done within the car or in some magical central plant--what was it, 4000psi or something immense like that?--there is no free lunch. Don't fall into the trap of thinking the car "runs on air," any more than my spring-driven car "runs on spring-steel." Someone has to pay for that spring to be wound, and someone has to pay for that air to be compressed, and unless they've discovered a vast chasm of 4000-psi compressed air somewhere outside of Bangalore, well...this will never make it past the proto stage.

ps: would YOU want to ride around with tanks full of 4000-psi-anything under your arse? Me neither.

[greg]

You are going to scare scuba divers!
The spring would scare me more.

[umesh rai]

i make a small project of air car engnine pls sajes me

[Takidra]

I think it is a wonderful idea i am in the 7th grade and we are studing how fossil fuels ruin and pollute the air and this car could change a lot of people's opinoin

[Jill]

I wonder why the makers of the aircar thought that consumers would be atracted to te designs.

[Paul C]

Great news guys this car is coming to the world soon but im not sure about America yet? Lots of great info on this car at www.thefuture.net.nz for when the car is released in Australia and New Zealand, Paul

[Lucas]

if the tank is 90 cubic feet (3178 cubic feet) then one side would be at least 4.4 meters (14.7 feet) wide.

that's quite big. perhaps this article was an April Fool's joke?

[Clee]

It's 90 cubic meters at 1 atmosphere, but it's compressed to 300 atmospheres in the tank, so the tank only needs a volume of 0.3 cubic meters (11 cubic feet).

But I'm not holding my breath. As Jim said, they've been going into production "soon" for about 10 years now.

[Cyril R.]

Clee, there is a very simple way to increase the range. Burn some fuel (vegetable oil? weren't they doing that already?) to heat the gas so it will expand that much more. Range can be increased several times this way, however this would make it a dual-fuel vehicle, to be fair.

The benefit is that it's possible to get a very high heat rate from the fuel. Like a very high efficiency heat engine. And that means high fuel mileage, although the electricity to run the compressor also has to counted in.

[ameen]

how do i get this car for sale?

[R. Foreman]

I am interested to be associated with your organization in getting your product in Caribbean market. I know it is one of the main solutions in the way forward for true economical growth and development. I am commending you on the excellent research and development that you have achieved in providing this option to the world. Blessed regards, Ron Foreman Rotary Club Kingston, Jamaica

[Rob]

If this car was publicized more than paintballers might use this as a way to get air from. This could be a good market for that

[Jules]

In response to some of the previous posters: the fact that electric motors are more efficient than air motors is not the salient point. The question should be whether compressed air vehicles are efficient ENOUGH to deliver adequate performance at a reasonable price. The possibility of sidestepping the high cost of storage batteries while getting air conditioning as a side benefit is intriguing. If Tata Motors and MDI can deliver on their promises, then more power to them.

[Geoffrey McClelland]

Hello i am wondering if you export the air compressed car? I would like to import them to australia if this is possible could you forward your contact details so i can get intouch with you please? Thank you

Best Regards

Geoffrey McClelland

[Car Advice]

I really adore the design and invention of this car. I think, it's more on a feminine type. The design itself looks that is just a mini car and not for real.

[newport driving school]

Hi,
Its a very interesting blog.I like this car, nice..

[Nodar Tushishvvili]

how and whre can I buy those air car?
please tell us if You know!

[Vlad Harchenko]

Hello, where to buy this car in Ukraine? Write to please ...

[smart]

I like AIR CAR
it is so good
Faster into Taiwan that I want to buy

[Van Leasing]

I visited this blog first time and found it very interesting and informative.. Keep up the good work thanks..