I have started to cover the Progressive Automotive X Prize Competition and the first team I’ve researched is MDI / Zero Pollution Motors

What’s fascinating about their vehicle is that it runs on compressed air! Now, as long as the car stays under 35 mph it will run completely off of the compressed air. When it gets above that speed, it will need to use gas or diesel to power the compressed air. All the same, it will get much better millage than a conventional car. If you’re driving inside a city, you may never even reach the 35 mph threshold, virtually running gas free.

MDI founder and CEO Guy Negre invented the first zero emissions Compressed Air Car prototype in 1997. The new generation Air Car features a secondary bio-fuel energy source and compresses air while driving to achieve a remarkable 96 mph, 106 mpg and up to 850 miles range. The vehicle can hold six people, and includes space for luggage or other cargo. According to the team, the Compressed Air Car runs entirely on compressed air when it is traveling under 35 mph. At higher speeds, the compressed air is heated, and thus expands before it enters the engine, resulting in what the team says is a much longer range. A small amount of fuel, either gasoline or diesel, is needed to heat the air. The air in the tank can be compressed using a regular electric outlet.

MDI / Zero Pollution Motors has entered their vehicle into the Auto X Prize comptetion. The compressed air vehicle was showcased at the Automotive X Prize booth at the 2008 New York Auto Show

From the company website:

Motor Development International (MDI) (www.mdi.lu) is the 15 year-old French-based company headed by Guy Negre, inventor of the Air Car. A former aeronautics and Formula One racecar engineer, Mr. Negre has been working diligently with his son, Cyril, an engineer with Bugatti, and about thirty other engineers to bring the Compressed Air technology to market (CAT). To date, the company holds many patents in over 120 countries for their innovative Air Car s vehicles.

Zero Pollution Motors is the first entity that will manufacture and sell the Air Car in the US. ZPM is run by Shiva Vencat, the exclusive representative for MDI in the United States. Find more information on Motor Development International at www.mdi.lu

It takes about 3 minutes to fill the compressor with air at a service station or you can plug it in at home and be fully recharged in 4 hours at it would cost about $2 in electricity.

Zero Pollution Motors plans to introduce a 6-seat, 4-door family-size version of the compressed air vehicle to the U.S. market. The ZPM model will achieve over 100 MPGe and over 90 mph, have zero to low C02 emissions, offer plenty of space for luggage, meet all safety requirements, and cost no more than an average economy to mid-size vehicle. The first ZPM manufactured compressed air car will roll off the production line in 2010 and will cost around $18,000.

I believe that MDI and Zero Pollution Motors are on the right track and it will be very interesting to see how their vehicle develops over the next couple of years and is introduced into the market.

Here’s a video clip of when MDI / Zero Pollution Motors were featured on the show “Beyond Tomorrow”. Take a look:

MDI / Zero Pollution Motors

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This entry was posted on Sunday, June 15th, 2008 at 1:32 pm and is filed under Auto X Prize. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.