MELBOURNE is set to be the manufacturing home base for a car that operates with zero emissions and can run solely on compressed air.
Guy Negre, who used to design engines for Formula One team Renault, has spent the past 15 years developing the air engine and says the first manufacturing plant will be established in Melbourne with cars expected to go on sale next year.
Mr Negre, the managing director of IT MDI-Energy, which will manufacture the air car, and partner Louis Arnoux have been in Melbourne this month to demonstrate the technology, which is part of a five-year $1.5 billion planned roll-out across Australia. The Victorian and Federal governments have been shown the technology, as well as other potential investors.
Compressed air, not petrol, pushes the engine’s pistons, which can then take the vehicle up to 110 kilometres an hour.
Running on compressed air alone, the car can travel 150 kilometres, but when the air is heated externally and incorporated with a fuel source, such as ethanol or diesel, it is possible to travel from Perth to Brisbane without refuelling.
Dr Arnoux said the car would be economically and environmentally friendly. He said the first small car would retail for less than $8000 and running costs would be 80% lower than current comparable vehicles.
IT MDI-Energy aims to reduce car emissions in Australia over the next 10 years by 20%. The company says that more than 7000 new jobs will be created over the next five years.
The car can be refuelled by plugging it into the compressed air supply that is found at most service stations.
Dr Arnoux said the air engine technology could also be used to power homes.
“The aim is to make it easy and fun for customers to shift to the new technology. As for electrical power, we expect that in most situations costs for a home will be 25% lower than current expenditure,” he said.
“We are used to thinking of ‘green’ being more expensive and cumbersome. This makes a rapid transition to 100% sustainable and enhanced lifestyles possible.”