Will you buy a car that runs on air?
Manu Sharma
Range 200 km.
Max Speed 110 kmh
Seats 6 people including driver
Refuel / recharge - under 3 minutes with commercial compressor
or 4 hours at home.
Cost of refueling complete tank around Rs.100
To be priced around Rs.3.5 Lakh in India (around US$ 8,500)
So that's about Rs.0.50 per km as against conventional petrol cars that cost around Rs.3 per km. It's also a zero emissions car - on road. Strictly speaking, it's not exactly zero emissions since air is compressed using electricity, which in India means coal. But you can use cleaner sources such as wind or solar and completely eradicate or limit your emissions.
Compressed air is stored in three carbon fiber tanks which are lightweight and don't explode in bits and pieces on impact like steel would. They just split. The engine has a compressor built-in, which means you can charge it anywhere you find a power source. There's no lock to the driver's door and no ignition key, both functions are activated by a smart card in your pocket.
Electric cars and petrol-electric hybrids that run on a motor powered by onboard batteries have been getting a lot of attention in US and Europe but they tend to be quite expensive since light weight and reliable battery storage is not cheap. And cheap battery storage isn't light weight.
Tata Motors will produce the air car in collaboration with MDI, a French company formed by a former Formula 1 engineer, Guy Nigere. The two companies signed a MOU in March this year.
News story
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4217016.html
French company
http://www.theaircar.com/
Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXrnCYAlUFc
Thanks,
Manu
Manu Sharma
The Air Car
The fiberglass MiniC.A.T. runs on compressed air, and offers zero pollution and very low running costs
Many respected engineers have been trying for years to bring a compressed air car to market, believing strongly that compressed air can power a viable "zero pollution" car. Now the first commercial compressed air car is on the verge of production and beginning to attract a lot of attention, and with a recently signed partnership with Tata, India's largest automotive manufacturer, the prospects of very cost-effective mass production are now a distinct possibility. The MiniC.A.T is a simple, light urban car, with a tubular chassis that is glued not welded and a body of fibreglass. The heart of the electronic and communication system on the car is a computer offering an array of information reports that extends well beyond the speed of the vehicle, and is built to integrate with external systems and almost anything you could dream of, starting with voice recognition, internet connectivity, GSM telephone connectivity, a GPS guidance system, fleet management systems, emergency systems, and of course every form of digital entertainment. The engine is fascinating, as is and the revolutionary electrical system that uses just one cable and so is the vehicle's wireless control system. Microcontrollers are used in every device in the car, so one tiny radio transmitter sends instructions to the lights, indicators etc
There are no keys – just an access card which can be read by the car from your pocket.
Most importantly, it is incredibly cost-efficient to run – according to the designers, it costs less than one Euro per 100Km (about a tenth that of a petrol car). Its mileage is about double that of the most advanced electric car (200 to 300 km or 10 hours of driving), a factor which makes a perfect choice in cities where the 80% of motorists drive at less than 60Km. The car has a top speed of 68 mph.
Refilling the car will, once the market develops, take place at adapted petrol stations to administer compressed air. In two or three minutes, and at a cost of approximately 1.5 Euros, the car will be ready to go another 200-300 kilometres.
As a viable alternative, the car carries a small compressor which can be connected to the mains (220V or 380V) and refill the tank in 3-4 hours.
Due to the absence of combustion and, consequently, of residues, changing the oil (1 litre of vegetable oil) is necessary only every 50,000 Km.
The temperature of the clean air expelled by the exhaust pipe is between 0 - 15 degrees below zero, which makes it suitable for use by the internal air conditioning system with no need for gases or loss of power.
How does it work?
90m3 of compressed air is stored in fibre tanks. The expansion of this air pushes the pistons and creates movement. The atmospheric temperature is used to re-heat the engine and increase the road coverage. The air conditioning system makes use of the expelled cold air. Due to the absence of combustion and the fact there is no pollution, the oil change is only necessary every 31.000 miles.
At the moment, four models have been made: a car, a taxi (5 passengers), a Pick-Up truck and a van. The final selling price will be approximately 5.500 pounds.
The Company
"Moteur Development International" (MDI) is a company founded in Luxembourg, based in the south of France and with its Commercial Office in Barcelona. MDI has researched and developed the Air Car over 10 years and the technology is protected by more than 30 International patents and MDI is actively seeking licensees, with according to the company, 50 factories in Europe, America and Asia signed already.
The Factory
It is predicted that the factory will produce 3.000 cars each year, with 70 staff working only one 8-hour shift a day. If there were 3 shifts some 9.000 cars could be produced a year.
The Tata Agreement
Tata Motors is India's largest automobile company, with revenues of US$ 5.5 billion in 2005-06. With over 4 million Tata vehicles on Indian roads, it is the leader in commercial vehicles and the second largest in passenger vehicles. It is also the world's fifth largest medium and heavy truck manufacturer and the second largest heavy bus manufacturer.
Tata has signed an agreement with MDI for application in India of MDI's engine technology, and believes the engine is viable – it's press statement described it as "efficient, cost-effective, scalable, and capable of other applications such as power generation".
The agreement between Tata Motors and MDI envisages Tata's supporting further development and refinement of the technology, and its application and licensing for India.
MDI is a small, family-controlled company located at Carros, near Nice (Southern France) where Guy and Cyril Negre and their technical team have developed the engine technology and the technologically advanced car it powers.
http://www.businessweek.com/print/autos/content/mar2007/bw20070319_949435.htm
Ajay Chandak
----- Original Message -----From: Manu SharmaSent: 07 June, 2007 10:57 AMSubject: [Green-India] Re: Will you buy a car that runs on air?Following up on the air car, here's a slightly older article (Mar 07) from BusinessWeek magazine that details its several innovative features:
The Air Car
The fiberglass MiniC.A.T. runs on compressed air, and offers zero pollution and very low running costs
Many respected engineers have been trying for years to bring a compressed air car to market, believing strongly that compressed air can power a viable "zero pollution" car. Now the first commercial compressed air car is on the verge of production and beginning to attract a lot of attention, and with a recently signed partnership with Tata, India's largest automotive manufacturer, the prospects of very cost-effective mass production are now a distinct possibility. The MiniC.A.T is a simple, light urban car, with a tubular chassis that is glued not welded and a body of fibreglass. The heart of the electronic and communication system on the car is a computer offering an array of information reports that extends well beyond the speed of the vehicle, and is built to integrate with external systems and almost anything you could dream of, starting with voice recognition, internet connectivity, GSM telephone connectivity, a GPS guidance system, fleet management systems, emergency systems, and of course every form of digital entertainment. The engine is fascinating, as is and the revolutionary electrical system that uses just one cable and so is the vehicle's wireless control system. Microcontrollers are used in every device in the car, so one tiny radio transmitter sends instructions to the lights, indicators etc
There are no keys - just an access card which can be read by the car from your pocket.
Most importantly, it is incredibly cost-efficient to run - according to the designers, it costs less than one Euro per 100Km (about a tenth that of a petrol car). Its mileage is about double that of the most advanced electric car (200 to 300 km or 10 hours of driving), a factor which makes a perfect choice in cities where the 80% of motorists drive at less than 60Km. The car has a top speed of 68 mph.
Refilling the car will, once the market develops, take place at adapted petrol stations to administer compressed air. In two or three minutes, and at a cost of approximately 1.5 Euros, the car will be ready to go another 200-300 kilometres.
As a viable alternative, the car carries a small compressor which can be connected to the mains (220V or 380V) and refill the tank in 3-4 hours.
Due to the absence of combustion and, consequently, of residues, changing the oil (1 litre of vegetable oil) is necessary only every 50,000 Km.
The temperature of the clean air expelled by the exhaust pipe is between 0 - 15 degrees below zero, which makes it suitable for use by the internal air conditioning system with no need for gases or loss of power.
How does it work?
90m3 of compressed air is stored in fibre tanks. The expansion of this air pushes the pistons and creates movement. The atmospheric temperature is used to re-heat the engine and increase the road coverage. The air conditioning system makes use of the expelled cold air. Due to the absence of combustion and the fact there is no pollution, the oil change is only necessary every 31.000 miles.
At the moment, four models have been made: a car, a taxi (5 passengers), a Pick-Up truck and a van. The final selling price will be approximately 5.500 pounds.
The Company
"Moteur Development International" (MDI) is a company founded in Luxembourg, based in the south of France and with its Commercial Office in Barcelona. MDI has researched and developed the Air Car over 10 years and the technology is protected by more than 30 International patents and MDI is actively seeking licensees, with according to the company, 50 factories in Europe, America and Asia signed already.
The Factory
It is predicted that the factory will produce 3.000 cars each year, with 70 staff working only one 8-hour shift a day. If there were 3 shifts some 9.000 cars could be produced a year.
The Tata Agreement
Tata Motors is India's largest automobile company, with revenues of US$ 5.5 billion in 2005-06. With over 4 million Tata vehicles on Indian roads, it is the leader in commercial vehicles and the second largest in passenger vehicles. It is also the world's fifth largest medium and heavy truck manufacturer and the second largest heavy bus manufacturer.
Tata has signed an agreement with MDI for application in India of MDI's engine technology, and believes the engine is viable - it's press statement described it as "efficient, cost-effective, scalable, and capable of other applications such as power generation".
The agreement between Tata Motors and MDI envisages Tata's supporting further development and refinement of the technology, and its application and licensing for India.
MDI is a small, family-controlled company located at Carros, near Nice (Southern France) where Guy and Cyril Negre and their technical team have developed the engine technology and the technologically advanced car it powers.
Manu Sharma
This article has created lot of trouble for me.
Your response is rather amusing. Please find my reply below your quotes:
As this is published for a reputed TATA company and published in a reputed newspaper as well everybody believes that it is viable. There were many inquiries and I got tired of replying to them.
I wonder why people don't write to the list for a discussion. Yes, it's by a reputed publication. There is no question that it's a valid technology. Tata isn't the only company interested in this, MDI has signed up licensees all across the world. I wouldn't have written about this in the first place if I wasn't satisfied with its authenticity.
The hitch is1. nobody still talks of how much will be cost of compressing air? Talk to the best manufacturing companies and you will know that the compressors are inefficient.
I think they have mentioned all the costs relevant to the air car- the expected price of the car and the price to refill the air tanks.
As to the costs related with power generation, that it's a secondary application of the air car engine. Power generation is not what it's designed for. Primary application is the air car. Also, at this early stage no company would be willing to reveal everything about a new technology.
Yes, the present compressors are inefficient but I'm certain that the inventor, Guy Negre - who was previously an engine designer with Renault's Formula One team - has found a novel way to beat the inefficiencies.
2. What is new in technology? All age old steam engines were working in the same manner. Steam after saturation behaves same as air. We have a working model of steam engine in our laboratory which is at least 20 years old and we demonstrates it to students by connecting it to compressor. It works fine. So what is new about the technology? This technology gor phased out because it was inefficient.
Just because it's not been done in the past doesn't mean it will never be done.
In another discussion list, after posting this message, I was contacted by a French engineer who has been following this development for the last five years (for the same reason - using the engine for power gen) and he tells me that the secret behind the efficiency of the MDI engine has to do with how it uses ambient heat.
"The basic idea is that when you compress a gas the molecules are all closer together and bounce around with more force which is the same thing as increasing the temperature, which means that heat is given off. When you then decompress that gas it has less heat (kinetic energy) than when it was compressed. Less heat means less energy. What the MDI design does is correct this energy deficit by sucking a bit of warmth out of the surrounding air."
I was also told that the global efficiency that you mentioned should be over 50%. If true, it should be a breakthrough considering how clean it is.
We wouldn't know the actual figures for sometime. Meanwhile, let me point you to a press release by Tata Motors which called the air car engine " efficient, cost-effective, scalable, and capable of other applications like power generation."
3. If the technology is so attractive and efficient, my common sense tells me that it should not take more than a year to get it in the market. What is a point in making so much of noise?
I completely disagree. It think that's a naive statement displaying a complete lack of respect for the complexity involved in mass producing a product. Designing something is easy but readying any product for mass production to be released in the wild and be subjected to different conditions is not a kid's play. And mass producing a CAR...that's a whole different thing.
Very few consumer products are as complex and have such a critical requirement for reliability as an automobile. So I'm not surprised that it has taken MDI half a decade in refining his invention without any large sponsor. I wouldn't also be surprised if the Tatas miss the Aug 2008 launch date unless they have already been working on the car for a year or two. Product development cycles in the automobile industry have known to be far longer than it has taken the air car.
Thanks,
Manu Sharma
[...] the secret behind the efficiency of the MDI engine has to do with how it uses ambient heat. [...]
I just wanted to point out a couple of more things regarding this. One, the BusinessWeek article also confirms the above characteristic of using ambient heat to increase efficiency. Buried in that story is this statement about air car engine:
"The atmospheric temperature is used to re-heat the engine and increase the road coverage."
In micro-CAES however this heat can't be used since compression and generation might happen at different time and place. Instead, it utilises an "ambient air calorific energy recovery exchanger" to raise the efficiency.
This explanation should put to rest any doubts about the air engine.