Air powered environmentally friendly car being produced
Compressed air powered car
Sounds a little strange right – an air powered car – why isn’t this big news I wonder…
There’s a great company in France operated by a former Formula 1 engineer now producing cars running on compressed air.
They’re not great to look at, super fast, or I’m guessing really comfortable, but they’re in production, and it seems to me this company has a great business model – they’ve just sold a batch of vehicles to the airline KLM who are now operating them at Amsterdam airport.
Not only do they have a great product which I believe could have dramatic effect on the future of car manufacturing in the ‘carbon reducing’ age, but their business model is also quite extraordinary. They’re proposing what they call ‘micro production factories’ where it is envisaged that vehicles are manufactured and sold in the same location, with numerous locations globally, dramatically reducing transportation costs, and benefiting local economies more effectively.
Instead of carbon fuels driving the pistons, they are driven by compressed air, stored in a tank. This tank is replenished by an air compressor similar to one found on a garage forecourt for pumping up vehicle tires. This compressor could be powered by wind or solar meaning that this could in reality be a emission free car. This, combined with the more ecologically friendly manufactoring process means that this car could have a truly small carbon footprint.
Read more about the company behind this great development here
I for one don’t get why they’re not having investment thrown at them for development – Tata in India – who recently bought up Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford are one of their major investors – this kind of technology has to be where at least some of the smart money is going…?
