Air powered vehicles?

Sound daft? Well, not so, as this from the Guardian reports; and we have mentioned compressed air vehicles on this very blog before. But this particular technology is currently undergoing genuine commercial testing and several manufacturers have already taken up licences to manufacture the technology.

I suspect that Guy Negre, the inventor/developer just might be onto a winner with his Airpod.

I hope that they make them look a little smarter than this particular prototype though!

These guys run on air!

I somehow missed this a few weeks back, but it's still worth sharing. We've all heard of ill fated attempts to create vehicles that run on compressed air, it's something that engineers have tried to do since the 19th century. Well, as reported in the International Herald Tribune, the time of the compressed air (and/or compressed air / petrol or electric hybrid) vehicle, may be nearer than anyone ever realised.

"One prototype, which looks like a big version of a Smart car, can top 68 miles an hour and, at lower speeds, travel up to 120 miles without refueling. Plug the car into an outlet, and the engine, in compressor mode, will refill the tank in four hours."

"The Scuderi Group, in West Springfield, Massachusetts, has a hybrid engine design that compresses air and burns petroleum fuel in separate cylinders and uses some compressed air to extend the petroleum engine."

It sounds like an awfully cheaper technology than any Hydrogen or fuel cell vehicle. It will be interesting to see what future developments bring.