Washington, May 10 (ANI): India-based Tata Motors has said that it
has tested two cars that can run on compressed air, and that the next
step is setting up the manufacturing plants to actually build them.
In 2007, Tata Motors signed a licensing deal with Motor Development International, a French design firm.
Compressed
air engines aren't a new idea. The first models were proposed more than
a century ago, and they were used in the mining industry for decades
before electric motors became commonplace.
Even now, compressed air powers all kinds of tools, notably the pneumatic impact wrenches in auto body shops.
A
compressed air car engine works in a way similar to the internal
combustion version - Fuel forces pistons to turn a crankshaft and power
the car. The difference is that in a compressed air engine, the pistons
are moved by air and not gasoline.
Researchers in Sweden have experimented with single-cylinder engines of this type.
The
only problem is power. Air compression alone only gets a car moving to
about 30 to 35 miles per hour. So to supplement that, the car could take
in more air as it moves faster, using an onboard air compressor.
The
air compressor could be electric or, more likely, gasoline-powered. But
even that would reduce emissions a lot, since the gasoline engine
wouldn't be running at lower speeds.
Range is also an issue. Like
all vehicles, an air-powered car can drive only as far as the amount of
fuel in its tank. And storing compressed air requires "fuel" tanks that
are stronger than steel to contain the thousands of pounds per square
inch necessary.
On the bright side, compressing air in such a tank
is a lot less dangerous than natural gas or hydrogen. Then there is the
issue of filling the car's tank, most air compressors would take at
least a couple of hours to do that.
Tata seems to be the only
manufacturer that has committed to actually building an air-powered car.
Honda unveiled an air-powered concept car in 2010, and a company called
Zero Pollution Motors had promised to deliver one to the United States,
but that was two years ago.
If Tata is successful, it will go a
long way toward reducing emissions in India-and perhaps freeing cars
from fossil fuels completely. (ANI)
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