The future of motoring?

[Koen]

I came across this movie on the net. Pretty amazing if you ask me!
Why do we need complex and polluting batteries to drive an engine, when we could use...air!

K.

[cylon2007]

The secomnd one is more interesting but both rely on using fossil fuel to compress the air so it's not a real solution. You just move the pollution to the Power Stations just as you do with electric cars.

[l-noel]

Could a Solution for In town transportation system (Taxi, Small Bus...)
Compressed Air can be obtain with electrical compressor. So if the electricity is produced through ecological ways (Biomass, Wind, Water and so on) ic could be a good solution with maybe less ecological impact than a fully Electrical car or Hybrid cars...

[Koen]

Originally Posted by cylon2007

The secomnd one is more interesting but both rely on using fossil fuel to compress the air so it's not a real solution. You just move the pollution to the Power Stations just as you do with electric cars.

Only partially true: efficiency of a modern car engine is 30-35% max. Big powerplants go way above 95%, so the way convert fossil (or any other) fuel to movement is far more economical if the fuel-to-energy process is done in big powerplants. And there is indeed the possibility to use "green" energy too.

Also, creating a good battery costs far more energy than creating a decent high pressure tank. Not to mention the indirect chemical and other resources needed.

And recharging a battery takes far more time than "refueling" a high pressure tank.

K.