After more than twenty years of research and development, a French engineer named Guy Negre has invented a car that runs on compressed air at city speeds, emitting zero pollution. The CityCAT model, for example, can travel up to 200-300 kilometers (around 120-190 miles) at speeds around 60 kilometers per hour (37 miles per hour). The only exhaust gas is cold air, which may also be used for air conditioning in a car. To refill the air tanks, it takes only about three minutes at a service station or several hours by plugging the car into an electrical outlet at home, running an on-board compressor to fill the air tanks. Other advantages of using compressed air instead of charging batteries include a faster recharge time, less energy loss over time (batteries tend to lose a portion of their energy even when idle), potentially lower initial costs when mass produced, and a lower toxicity of the materials used. While compressed air does have its safety concerns, such as possible explosive rupturing of the air tanks, rigid safety codes can limit the risk. Moreover, unlike gasoline, compressed air poses no risk of catching fire during accidents. Rather than selling the cars directly, Negre's company, Moteur Development International (MDI), offers investors a factory package containing the machinery needed to build the cars. This is a new concept in car production, enabling small local factories to produce these cars. Negre reports that MDI has already sold more than thirty small licenses to investors from Mexico, Italy and South Africa, although mass production has not yet begun. Recently, the Mexican government has signed a deal with MDI to buy 40,000 compressed-air cars to replace many of the gasoline and diesel powered taxis in the heavily polluted Mexico City. While Negre has yet to report real
success in marketing the vehicle, the concept behind it seems to hold
potential in light of the growing need for efficient and alternative
energy. (English)
| |||||||||
