Compressed Air Car #2

We reported earlier this year on a compressed air car being manufactured in India by a French company. Now the New York Daily News reports that the company, with a headquarters in New Paltz, New York, is planning a version for the American market available as early as 2010. The article claims:

"Electricity powers an onboard compressor to compress air to 4,500 pounds per square inch into a pressure tank contained in the vehicle," ZPM communications director Kevin Haydon told the Daily News from New Paltz. "This can be done in a garage overnight and it will take 1-2 hours. The compressed air is then used to power the engine."

Their car will travel about 1,000 miles at up to 96 mph on one fill-up.

Read the story here.

One side note about hype. Having been writing these posts for going on a year, I have discovered that the claims made by companies, and reported in the press, are often greater than the outcomes. Time frames, prices, energy efficiency and other factors, may be exaggerated. The reality is slower, more costly and not quite as efficient as initially projected. Some reports of amazing new inventions and projected market developments never come to pass.

Still, I think it is well worth reporting these developments. For one thing, many of them are actual inventions, and they all point to a trend of more energy efficient and elegant design in response to the changing conditions of contemporary life. Not all these things will work out as hoped, but in general, I have found that reporting these developments has begun to subtly alter my thinking about the technology of the future. My hope is that others will also be stimulated to think along new lines as our society navigates this period of climate change coupled with a need to use resources in a more organic way.