Well, I really do hate to be the guy who keeps raining on everyone's parade regarding all these new, wonderful and (especially) mystical discoveries but..... I gots to do it in the name of [science, reality, physics, common sense]!
Compressed air is terribly inefficient. If this sub- sized 'car' (really a motorcycle as it has three wheels) is cheap to drive, it is because it is so tremendously underpowered, as well as small and light. But let's not confuse this with efficiency. If the whole thing was scaled up to power something that might pass DOT parameter and that we might drive in the US, the air compressor power source would be less than 1/2 as efficient as our current gasoline powered vehicles and have none of the unusual requirements (special fueling stations, incredibly clean, dry air, etc.).
Compressed air powered vehicles are in the 5% to 7% overall efficiency area, compared to gasoline powered vehicles which typically exhibit 14% or a bit more in overall efficiency. Then add in the inefficiency of generating the electricity that is used to compress the air (30% to 35%, and this is burning some of the dirtiest fuel uses- coal), the electrical transmission losses and finally, the compressor efficiency at the time of actually compressing the air.
And the idea that a compressed air powered 'anything' is clean because it does not use any fossil fuel is just silly- fossil fuel is what will compress the air, just as it is the source of electricity for electric cars. So for the tree huggers that would like to think this is all a step forward, just think, we are moving from a fairly dirty, non- US produced fossil fuel (gasoline) to a tremendously dirty, US produced fossil fuel (coal).
I think a much, much better idea [that failed as this one will] was the hydrogen powered car. At least that had the potential to yield something more efficient and cleaner than we are currently using. It still won't work because of practical reasons but at least it looked like it could work. Same thing with T. Boone Pickens drive (no pun intended) to convert road use vehicles over to natural gas- at least that had some practical aspects and would accomplish what he set out to do: move our fuel consumption from foreign to domestic supplies.
OK, putting my pin away now (the one I use to pop Unicorn made bubbles). :-)
Brian
Received this email the other day.
Can't find a link, thinking it might be a bit of a spoof.Subject: Fwd: FW: Modern Miracle.....
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