New Car Runs on Compressed Air
French engineer Guy Negre has designed a car that runs on compressed air, produces no emissions on short trips, and can be refueled in three minutes flat. Called the OneCAT (CAT stands for compressed air technology), the new compressed-air powered car is a lightweight five-seat vehicle that is expected to sell for about $5,000 when it hits the market. With the backing of Tata Motors, which just last month introduced the world’s cheapest car—the $2,500 Tata Nano subcompact—Negre plans to start selling the first models in India within a year.
If this sounds like the automotive equivalent of balloon power, you’re not far off. The compressed air is stored in carbon-fiber tanks that are built into the chassis. As the air is released, the pressure drives pistons that power the engine and move the car, and the pistons compress the air into a reservoir so that the process continues.
On short trips, the car runs on nothing but air. For longer trips, liquid fuel increases the vehicle’s range by heating and expanding the compressed air, which increases the pressure on the pistons. The OneCAT is designed to burn any liquid fuel and gets the equivalent of 120 miles per gallon when fuel is needed.
Negre’s vision of sustainable transportation extends beyond the vehicle itself. Although he partnered with Tata Motors in India, for the rest of the world his goal is to save emissions by persuading hundreds of investors to set up local factories to use 80 percent locally sourced materials. And to help keep the OneCAT affordable, he wants the factories to cut out the middle man and sell their cars directly to consumers.
Photo by Moteur Developpment International
Also read:
- A Mighty Wind? Compressed-Air Car Gains Tailwind with Tata Backing – Edmunds.com
- India’s Tata backs air-power car -- BBC
- U.S. Autos Account for Half of Global Warming Linked to Cars Worldwide
- Automakers Spinning Their Wheels on Fuel Economy
- Traditional vs. Plug-in Hybrid Cars: Which is Better?
- The Great American Streetcar Scandal
- Public Transportation: Fast Track to Fewer Emissions and Energy Independence
Comments
It still takes energy to compress the air, in France probably from nuclear sources, in the rest of the world probably from coal, There is no free lunch when it comes to energy. The only way to conserve is just that: conserve, ie- use less energy.
I have solar power for my home, so it is not true that these cars would require the use of energy from coal. What I want to know is when I’ll truly be able to buy a car like this, or an EV.
We may have this type of technologies soon as I am working on a new electric engine that use liquid nitrogen. You can check out the whole system at CoolingEarth.org
Mr. Guy Negre’s intention is more appreciable than his invention. Though compressed air vehicle is not a new concept, The intention of providing facilities and services to local people from local companies and avoid more middle men is more appreciable.
Hat’s off to ‘Sir. Guy Negre’ Inventors should always work for the society, and should not expect any greedy money from the society for their inventions. Providing new Invention to the society is equvalent to the social service done.
Larry, revisiting this topic led me to your article on hybrids. There you quote some cost figures that need to be qualified. Remembering that there is no free lunch, a hybrid that generates its own elec gets about 35 mpg overall: zero gas used while in elec mode, but only about 15-20mpg while in gas mode. The old, little Geo used to get 50mpg.Is the hybrid an improvement?
The plug-ins are only cost effective when we use them conservatively (ie- slow speeds.It all gets back to conservation.) There’s a hi perf elec vehicle that costs about 16cpg when used at top speed, ie- equiv cost to only 25mpg @$4/gal. To spend only 4cpg is to drive the plug-in @only 20mph or so.
Would someone please tell T.Boon Pickens about this!! And what’s wrong with 120 miles on a fill up of pure air anyway!!! Sounds great to me. Once again major Auto makers are missing the boat!!! I’m ready for one now. And for enviro purists who preach no carbon burning at all, well you have two feet, you are welcome to walk wherever you want, whenever you want. The rest of us don’t mind using the local power generator to compress our air tanks.