I like the show "Planet Mechanics", a show about two men in England who try to solve renewable energy challenges, such as constructing windmills or water turbines. In one episode, the men were building a moped powered by compressed air. Their projects usually start with whatever materials they can find, they're not a big production shop, so the resulting moped looked pretty odd with two big air tanks strapped to the frame and the motors on the back. But it worked, and it was a proof-of-concept of a pretty neat idea. They even had it certified by the transportation department as fully street legal.
Part of the episode shows them going to a compressed-air car manufacturer; they make a small commuter car that uses compressed air.
A few links:
Planet Mechanics episode
Gizmodo reported on another example of the same thing
A few questions that came to mind (and others' minds) when talking about this kind of "fuel":
This isn't really "green", is it? Don't we need to generate electricity (which emits carbon dioxide) to fill the tanks?
Sure, but you could use solar panels or windmill to generate the electricity. And even if you do have to plug it into the wall, a coal power plant can create that electricity cleaner than the equivalent gas engine would provide the same power.
What if an air tank breaks or explodes in an accident?
Air tanks can be made to crack if they are damaged in an accident instead of shatter or break open. This will allow the air to leak out in multiple directions and under more control than if it were to be punctured. Also, air tanks are made of very thick steel, which makes puncturing them very difficult. (And don't forget, cars have gas tanks which sometimes leak after an accident, so there's no perfectly safe fuel for cars yet.)
How far will I be able to travel before recharging the tanks?
This is a question that comes up a lot with battery-powered cars. The answer varies. The Chevy Volt, a battery-powered car, has an on-board gasoline engine that runs when the batteries need to be charged. It's not an emissions-free solution, but it's leaps and bounds better than using strictly gasoline. Using the engine to refresh the battery will result in a range comparable to most gasoline-powered cars. An air-powered car could borrow this idea and use a gasoline engine to replenish the tanks when needed.
A second answer to this question is another question: How far do you need to drive? The average daily commute in the US is about 30 miles. Teenagers driving to school, work, or on dates will rarely drive more than 30 miles in a day. So battery-powered (and air-powered) cars make sense for those situations. I make very few round trips that are longer than 30-40 miles.
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