Air Powered Car

Air Powered Car -  Compressed Air Car

Imagine driving an air car to work every single day. They are not on the road now, but research and testing is being done to eventually put the air powered car on the road. Right now, there are two ongoing projects that are geared toward creating a car that operates off of compressed air power.

Within the next couple of years, the compressed air car is expected to come in two forms:

1) Two cylinder air compressed engine – This air car is powered by a two cylinder, compressed air engine. However, it does not operate off of just air power. It can also operate as an internal combustion engine. It is expected that cars such as this can travel around 124 miles before it has to be refueled with compressed air. As for how this air power car works, the compressed air is stored in a tank made of carbon or glass fiber at pressures of 4, 350 pounds per square inch.

2) Cryogenic heat engine – The University of Washington is working on this particular compressed air car. It basically uses the same concept as the steam engine. The exception is that there is no internal combustion. This involves using liquid Nitrogen as part of the process. However, this Nitrogen is cryogenically frozen. However, the gas tank is a 24 gallon tank that is made of stainless steel.

These cars, when they hit the road, will be very efficient and environmentally safe. There are no emissions since the fuel source is compressed air. There is also the fact that an individual can travel a generous distance before having to refuel their air car. An individual may not be able to get the same mileage out of a tank that they do with a gasoline engine, but the cost is considerably less and the process is much cleaner.