http://www.mdi.lu/eng/affiche_eng.php?page=onecats
Compressed air technology (CAT). Saw a running prototype on French TV FR2 today, they are backed by the Indian auto manufacturer Tata Motors and say they will go into commercial production in 2009. It's not clear how they work in gas powered mode though, from what I heard it seems they burn it continuously (as opposed to explosively) in real time in a combustion chamber and run their compressed air engine on the expanding combustion gases instead of compressed air, or maybe they heat up air to expand it... In any case they announce extraordinarily low gas consumption 1.5 L/100km (157 MPG!), CO2 emission 30g/km and price 3500 Euros! (electrically fillable (plug in on board compressor = compressed air engine used in reverse) compressed air tank range 100km, petrol (presumably biofuels will be possible in the future) powered range 800km. Michel
