ENVIRONMENTALLY-CONSCIOUS CAR company, Zero Pollution Motors (ZPM) is hoping that, come 2011, it will have introduced a new breed of car, powered by a combination of compressed air and a small conventional engine.
ZPM claims the car will be priced between $23,000 and $28,000, and will be partly powered by a conventional engine, that, together with the air component, will be good for 55kW, and expected to be capable of achieving a remarkably frugal 2.2 l/100km.
At speeds less than 56km/h, the car relies entirely on the air tank and emits only cold air. At faster speeds, the small conventionally-fuelled engine kicks in to run a heater that warms the air and speeds its release.
When no option exists to plug the car into a wall outlet, the engine also refills the air tank on the go, extending the range and speed.
ZPM Chief Executive Shiva Vencat said, “The air car works by plugging into a wall outlet, allowing an on-board compressor to pressurize the car’s air tank to 4,500 pounds per square inch.”
“It takes about four hours to get the tank to full pressure, and then the air is then released gradually to power the car’s pistons”.
However, engineering experts are sceptical of the technology, saying it is clouded by the caveat that compressing air is notoriously energy intensive.
Vencat said that he often gets such criticism. He counters that the car is cleaner than any internal combustion engine and remarkably simpler, cheaper and more advanced than power-trains currently under development.
Vencatt compares the air-powered car to the Chevrolet Volt, which will be released as in the US in 2011.
“The big difference is that the Volt needs a massive lithium-ion battery, and it’s a big part of the reason why it is expected to cost about US$40,000 when it goes on sale late next year”.
A new ZPM air-powered car was unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show in March, with the concept being originally developed by the French race car engineer, Guy Negre.
Airlines KLM and Air France are testing the bubble-shaped ZPM AirPods this month for use as transportation around airports.
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No AirPods have been delivered to Air France KLM for testing, although they were scheduled to be delivered this month.
That shouldn’t be surprising, since the e.Voluton air car by MDI and ZPM that was announced in 2000 with deliveries to start in 2001 still have never been delivered.
Same for the many other false announcements made by MDI almost every year since 2000. Never a single car delivered.
MDI has not explained why they can never deliver a car, but my guess is that they cannot come anywhere close to the specifications they claim, particularly the 200km/125 mile range they have been claiming repeatedly since 2000.
The article your editors have published misleads readers to see this small (green) air-pod as the car Zero Pullution will produce in the price range you post: it’s not . . .
Be fair — not biased following a silly dearth of proganda following this story presently being floated on multiple US websites (May 2009(?) — that air is inefficient compared to electric. Any preliminary research will reveal that compressed air car power concepts are to produce it not only from electric but also from wind and/or water (rivers etc) turbine power (direct sources) — something electric vehicles can’t do in producing electricity from water, wind, or fuel.
The batteries electric vehicles will also need are messy things to produce and deal with when dead . . .
Why not push the big three auto manufactuers to buy into the air licencing agreements and try it?