Rinspeed’s Zero Emission sQuba

Go ahead and day dream, it’s supposedly good for you and you can have what ever you want without costing a dime. Need a subject? Well picture this; the futuristic 2 door sportster “sQuba” is a James Bond inspired, zero-emissions, electric aqua-car from CEO Frank M. Rinderknecht and the geniuses at Swiss Rinspeed Design Company. The sQuba “moves like a fish in water” to depths of up to 33 feet (10 meters) and still manages to reach speeds of around 75mph (120kmh) when on dry land. In the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, 007 dove below the waves in a futuristic vehicle that moments before seemed to be an ‘ordinary’ car. Well, that really didn’t happen – it was movie magic. Not only is this vehicle real, it’s better because it’s green. The zero-emissions sQuba can transport a driver and passenger in its open cockpit design which is intended to allow the occupants easy escape, in case of emergency. When underwater, the occupants breathe air carried in the vehicle through scuba-style rebreathers and without occupants the sQuba will surface automatically.

The twin water jets mounted on rotating louvers at the front of the vehicle provide steering and lift while it is underwater and the propellers at the rear provide forward movement. On dry land a single 54 kW electric rear-wheel drive powertrain, utilizing rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, powers the sQuba allowing it to achieve 0-50 mph (0-80kmh) in 7.1 seconds. In the water it will do 4 mph (6 kmh) on the surface and 1.5 mph (3 kmh) underwater.

The sQuba features powerful yet energy-saving LED lighting technology and employs carbon nano-tubes to keep the weight down and buoyancy just right. It floats on the surface until the operator floods the interior to submerge. It is designed to “fly” when underwater like a submarine, not to drive along the surface at the bottom of the water. The salt-water resistant interior of the one-off (Lotus Elise) concept is built to stand the punishment of a marine environment and yet able to feature genuine mother-of-pearl trim and diamond-plated non-slip inlays. The high-tech instrument cluster and controls create a futuristic ambiance and allow controlling all vehicle functions even while submerged.

But that’s not all! On terra firma the sQuba can drive entirely autonomously (without a driver), at the touch of a button made possible by laser technology called LUX from the Hamburg-based company, Ibeo. LUX laser sensors permit a variety of driver assistance functions using one single small device, such as automatic emergency braking, pedestrian protection, collision protection, traffic jam assistant and others.

Rinderknecht sai d that because they have used a zero emission engine, it was very clear from the beginning to minimize the pollution in every aspect, especially because this vehicle also moves in the precious element of water. All the lubricants and greases in use are made rapidly biodegradable.

The prototype cost more than $1.5 million to build. When the sQuba enters production, they are expected to “cost less than a Rolls-Royce”, according to Rinderknecht.

Rinderknecht is known for his extraordinary automotive creations. The acknowledged James Bond enthusiast kept revisiting that scene in his mind over and over: “For three decades I have tried to imagine how it might be possible to build a car that can fly under water. Now we have made this dream come true. The sQuba lets me be one with the elements and lets me immerse myself in a new and fascinating world. It is our duty to protect this world in which we are guests to the best of our ability.”

If Rinspeed can devote enough resources to a concept car obviously marketed as a “toy for rich people”, yet at the same time ensure that the vehicle maintain an environmental consciousness, that should be a wake up call to those who would steer away from ecological innovation and continue to toe the status quo line.

I take my green-dreaming – shaken, not stirred.

…. as the green future unfolds.

Seventy-six percent (76%) of all electricity generated by US power plants goes to
supply the Building Sector. Buildings are responsible for almost half (48%) of all
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions annually.

With this in mind, Architecture 2030, a non-profit independent organization, was
established by architect Edward Mazria in 2002. 2030′s mission is to rapidly
transform the US and global Building Sector from the major contributor of GHG to a
central part of the solution to the global-warming crisis.

To accomplish this, Architecture 2030 has issued The 2030 Challenge asking the
global architecture and building community to adopt the following targets:

All new buildings, developments and major renovations shall be designed to meet
a fossil fuel, GHG-emitting, energy consumption performance standard of 50% of
the regional (or country) average for that building type.

At a minimum, an equal amount of existing building area shall be renovated
annually to meet a fossil fuel, GHG-emitting, energy consumption performance
standard of 50% of the regional (or country) average for that building type.

The fossil fuel reduction standard for all new buildings shall be increased to:
*                60% in 2010
*                70% in 2015
*                80% in 2020
*                90% in 2025
Carbon-neutral in 2030 (using no fossil fuel GHG emitting energy to operate).

Already Architecture 2030 has made an impact:

US Department of Energy (DOE) moves forward with Zero-Net Energy Commercial
Buildings Initiative, by requesting proposals from its National Labs and
private sector companies to achieve cost-effective savings of 50 percent (50%)
above the standard set by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and

Air-Conditioning Engineers for new commercial building designs, and a savings
of 30 percent (30%) for retrofits to existing buildings.
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has adopted a new plan, which
includes two strategies in line with the 2030 Challenge: to have all
residential buildings achieve zero net energy use by 2020, and to have all
commercial buildings achieve zero net energy use by 2030.

(NOTE: I used the actual term in the CPUC’s plan, “zero net energy use”, but
I believe “net zero energy emissions” to be more accurate. I’m not just being
picky here, there’s a difference.)

Oregon’s governor announces a 2009 legislative climate change package with
proposals for net zero greenhouse gas emissions for homes and buildings by
2030.

City of Vancouver adopts The 2030 Challenge. The City of Vancouver adopts The
2030 Challenge target of carbon neutral buildings by 2030.

Smart Water

A standalone desalinator needs 17 gallons of diesel fuel and 66.5 kilowatts of
electricity to make 1,000 gallons of freshwater, but now, the Solar Cube, (made
by Spectra Watermakers in California), churns out 1,500 gallons of drinking water
on just 22 kilowatts of its own solar and wind power. The innovation is a pump
that triples efficiency by recapturing hydraulic pressure during the filtering
process. Solar Cubes are now bringing freshwater to remote regions and places
short on infrastructure and electricity without paying the CO2 price – way cool.

Electric Asphalt

Rajib Mallick an engineer at Worcester Polytechnic Institute who studies the
effect of solar radiation on cities, has devised a way to harness heat from baking
blacktop and turn it into electricity. His system pumps water — an excellent heat
conductor — through a network of copper pipes embedded in asphalt. As the water
circulates, it pulls heat from the scorching surface and produces steam to drive a
turbine that cranks out electricity. Mallick is partnering with the University of

Massachusetts Dartmouth and the optics firm Novotech to install a full-scale system
beneath a 10,000-square-foot parking lot near Worcester, Massachusetts, next
summer. By supplying electricity to the adjacent buildings, he expects the $200,000
system to pay for itself in energy savings in a decade.

Plug-N-Play Cars

Zero to 60 mph in about nine seconds may sound sluggish, but it’s a breakthrough
for a zero-emissions, all-electric car that can travel up to 100 miles on a single
charge and hit speeds of 85 mph. That’s the claim of the i MiEV (for “Mitsubishi
Innovative motor Electric Vehicle”), a new plug-in four-door coupe. The i MiEV runs
on a pack of 22 lithium-ion batteries, but unlike other electric cars, including the
Chevy Volt and Tesla Roadster, the i MiEV doesn’t require a liquid cooling system to
avoid overheating. “Proprietary metals in the battery design let us do away with it,”
says Moe Durand, the communications manager for Mitsubishi Motors North America. This
makes the i MiEV lighter and more efficient, which — combined with a small, rear-
mounted electric motor — gives it plenty of zip and extended range. The company is
also developing a two-door i MiEV Sport with a planned top speed of 122 mph and a
124-mile range. Still a concept, the sportier version will have a rooftop
photovoltaic panel for extra power, heat-deflecting windows to save AC, and an
interior made from polymer-producing plants. Mitsubishi is now fleet-testing the
four-door in the U.S. and will sell a $28,000 model in Japan this summer.

source: Popular Science

Energy efficiency boom leads 9 clean technology predictions for 2009

SHANGHAI, China, December 4th, 2008 – Continuing an annual tradition, the Cleantech
Group™, founders of the cleantech investment category and providers of leading global
market research and financial services for the cleantech ecosystem, today issued nine
predictions for clean technology markets in 2009, forecasting progress in some sectors,
but delays and setbacks in others.

A reflection of undercurrents in the global clean technology category from the company’s
conversations with industry and government leadership worldwide, the nine predictions
include a global focus on energy efficiency as a job creation and economic engine, and an
increase in valuations of global wind companies.

At the same time, challenges are predicted in the year ahead, including a doubling in the
failure rate of cleantech startups, delays in global climate change and U.S. carbon cap
and trade legislation, a decline in clean technology venture investment from an all-time
peak in 2008 and a shakeout in thin film solar.

“This list reflects input from industry and government figures in places like Singapore,
Mumbai, Tel Aviv, Dubai, London, Barcelona, San Francisco, Washington D.C. and
Johannesburg,” said Cleantech Group Executive Chairman Nicholas Parker, introducing the
predictions at a press conference at the company’s Cleantech Forum™ event in Shanghai, an
industry gathering of hundreds of the world’s leading clean technology investors,
entrepreneurs, policy makers and large corporate buyers of clean technologies.

The Cleantech Group’s nine predictions for 2009 are as follows:

1. Energy efficiency infrastructure boom initiated
The Cleantech Group sees a quadruple bottom-line benefit driving a global focus on energy
efficiency in 2009. Energy efficiency drives job creation, boosts secular competiveness,
addresses the need for carbon reduction and reduces the demand for imported energy. And
with a relatively short lead time to enter the market, the company thinks energy
efficiency will be a common denominator around investments in generating green jobs and
renewed clean infrastructure in 2009 and moving forward.

2. Global climate talks bog down – no serious deal until 2011/12
Governments have reiterated their commitments to moving the climate change agenda
forward, but the Cleantech Group forecasts that governments are going to find themselves
distracted, and conversations are going to become more complex than realized. Technology
transfer to India and China, for instance, is expected to be a conflict point. The
company does not see a global deal in 2009, possibly not even in 2010.

3. U.S. passes national RPS, but cap & trade bill only in 2010
U.S. president-elect Barack Obama says he’s committed to a carbon cap and trade bill, but
the Cleantech Group expects it will take the U.S. Congress until 2010 to get it passed,
forecasting slow progress because of the complexity of issues, and political pushing and
shoving. Cleantech Group projects a U.S. national RPS (renewable portfolio standard) to
be passed beforehand in 2009.

4. Wind stocks come back; thin film PV shakeout
Many clean technology stocks are currently under siege on worldwide markets. However, the
Cleantech Group expects wind stocks in particular to surge in 2009, partly driven by a
new national RPS in the U.S., continued growth in China and emerging awareness of wind as
one of the most cost competitive alternative energy asset classes. At the same time, the
company cites over-investment in thin film photovoltaics (PV) in the private capital
markets and inflated valuations in the public capital markets as driving failures and
consolidations in thin film solar in 2009.

5. Clean technology VC stabilizes at $7B globally; PE more active
While a robust amount of capital has entered the clean technology space over the last 6-8
weeks, Cleantech Group sees a slight decline globally in venture capital (VC) investment,
down from a predicted 8 billion in 2008 to 7 billion in 2009, forecasting a possible
decline in venture capital entering the sector for the first time in the history of
cleantech. It also forecasts more private equity (PE) players entering venture capital,
and perhaps a slight retreat for hedge funds.

6. Failure rate of cleantech startups doubles
The Cleantech Group believes clean technology investors, as in other sectors, will focus
in 2009 on the most promising companies in their portfolios, and allow the weaker or
cash-constrained ones to merge, be acquired or fail. It expects the failure rate of earl
stage cleantech companies to potentially double this year, up from the typical 20 percent
to about 40 percent.

7. IT turns to the energy opportunity
While forward-looking IT and telecom companies like IBM, Autodesk, Cisco, Intel and
Applied Materials have been engaged in clean technology for some time, the Cleantech
Group predicts the IT industry will seize energy as a significant 2009 revenue
opportunity. Growth sectors are expected to include integrated energy management systems,
smart grid, carbon content reduction in supply chains, next generation solar materials
and systems, among others.

8. R&D stagnates; corporates acquire green growth assets
With government and large corporation research and development (R&D) spending on energy
and other clean technologies largely flat, the Cleantech Group predicts 2009 will be a
year of acquisitions of green growth assets. For example, a notable deal in late November
was Panasonic’s acquisition of Sanyo in Japan, primarily because of its solar and battery
divisions.

9. Energy-water-food nexus emerges
There is increased recognition of the relationship between energy and food – as evidenced
this past year regarding the tradeoffs of grain based ethanol. And there is some
understanding of the relationship between energy and water (much energy is used move
water for agricultural purposes.) But there isn’t yet a wide understanding of the
confluence of the three. The Cleantech Group forecasts an increasing awareness of this
nexus in the coming year, and predicts that smart entrepreneurs and investors bringing
solutions to the table will enjoy triple returns if helping to address all three of these
challenges at once.

About the Cleantech Group, LLC
The Cleantech Group pioneered the cleantech investment category in 2002. Today, it
accelerates the development and market adoption of clean technologies globally through
membership in the largest global network of investors and companies representing more
than $3 trillion in assets. Member investors, growth companies/vendors, enterprises,
service providers, and others receive access to capital, investment deal flow, market
leading research and data, insight, sales leads, human capital, and promotional
opportunities. The Cleantech Group also produces the premier Cleantech Forum events
worldwide. Details at http://www.cleantech.com.

I found this at EcoGeek and found it to be another interesting idea.

FloDesign, a Massachusetts based engineering firm, has designed a new wind turbine
that deviates from the standard windmill in a compelling way. Its main feature is a
stationary piece in front that directs wind into the spinning blades. Overall, the
machine looks more like a jet engine than a wind turbine and it packs quite a punch
as well – a FloDesign turbine can generate as much power as a conventional turbine
twice its size.

FloDeisgn has a long list of reasons why its devices are superior to the status quo.
At the top of that list is efficiency – regular turbines only capture around half
of the energy stored in the wind that hits them. This is because they deflect a lot
of that wind around them. The FloDesign turbine, on the other hand, sucks in that
wind and utilizes much more of its energy. From a practical perspective, the smaller
turbines require less material to build, are easier to install (as one example, the
entire turbine could be packed onto a standard 18 wheeler, as opposed to turbine
blades that require incredibly oversized flatbeds) and take up less land.

They claim that their design also helps solve the NIMBY problem, because people
don’t have to see the huge spinning blades from miles around. I am dubious that
NIMBY participants will adore large, stationary structures that much more than
large, moving structures, but this design does address one often overlooked issue:
when wind turbines are built near workplaces, people often have to endure ceaseless
oscillation of light and shadow, which can drive them nuts. These turbines solve that
problem.

Prototypes are scheduled for testing over the next year or so. If all goes well, we
could be seeing wind farms with these things soon afterwards. If these turbines can
be successfully implemented, their significance should not be underestimated. The
land and money needed to build a 1 GW wind farm could be used instead to build a
2-3 GW wind farm. We sometimes think that wind can only work if we build bigger,
bigger bigger. FloDesign argues that, using some clever aerodynamics, we can
squeeze more juice out of smaller, smaller, smaller.

Rapidly accelerating climate change (global warming), which is caused by greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions, is now fueling dangerous regional and global environmental events.

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration illustrates that buildings are
responsible for almost half (48%) of all GHG emissions annually. Seventy-six percent
(76%) of all electricity generated by US power plants goes to supply the Building
Sector. Therefore, immediate action in the Building Sector is essential if we are to
avoid hazardous climate change. Credible scientists give us 10 years to be well on our
way toward global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions in order to avoid
catastrophic climate change.

Architecture 2030, a non-profit, non-partisan and independent organization, was
established in response to the global-warming crisis by architect Edward Mazria
in 2002. 2030’s mission is to rapidly transform the US and global Building Sector
from the major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions to a central part of the
solution to the global-warming crisis.

To accomplish this, Architecture 2030 has issued The 2030 Challenge asking the
global architecture and building community to adopt the following targets:

All new buildings, developments and major renovations shall be designed to
meet a fossil fuel, GHG-emitting, energy consumption performance standard  of 50% of
the regional (or country) average for that building type.

At a minimum, an equal amount of existing building area shall be renovated
annually to meet a fossil fuel, GHG-emitting, energy consumption performance
standard of 50%   of the regional (or country) average for that building type.

-    The fossil fuel reduction standard for all new buildings shall be increased to:
*         70% in 2015
*          80% in 2020
*          90% in 2025
*          Carbon-neutral in 2030 (using no fossil fuel GHG emitting energy to operate).

Already Architecture 2030 has made an impact:

US Department of Energy (DOE) moves forward with Zero-Net Energy Commercial
Buildings Initiative, by requesting proposals from its National Labs and private
sector companies to achieve cost-effective savings of 50 percent (50%) above the
standard set by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning
Engineers for new commercial building designs, and a savings of 30 percent for
retrofits to existing buildings.

California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has adopted a new plan, which includes
two strategies in line with the 2030 Challenge: to have all residential buildings
achieve zero net energy use by 2020, and to have all commercial buildings achieve
zero net energy use by 2030.

Oregon’s governor announces a 2009 legislative climate change package with
proposals for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for homes and buildings by 2030.

For you futurists, geeks and of course, you greenies……… look at this!

Supercomputers Break Petaflop Barrier, Transforming Science By Betsy Mason
A new crop of supercomputers is breaking down the petaflop speed barrier, pushing
high-performance computing into a new realm that could change science more profoundl
than at any time since Galileo, leading researchers say.

When the Top 500 list of the world’s fastest supercomputers was announced at the
international supercomputing conference in Austin, Texas, on Monday, IBM had barely
managed to cling to the top spot, fending off a challenge from Cray. But both competitors
broke petaflop speeds, performing 1.105 and 1.059 quadrillion floating-point calculations
per second, the first two computers to do so.

These computers aren’t just faster than those they pushed further down the list, they<!–more–>
will enable a new class of science that wasn’t possible before. As recently described in
Wired magazine, these massive number crunchers will push simulation to the forefront of
science.

Scientists will be able to run new and vastly more accurate models of complex phenomena:
Climate models will have dramatically higher resolution and accuracy, new materials for
efficient energy transmission will be developed and simulations of scramjet engines will
reach a new level of complexity.

“The scientific method has changed for the first time since Galileo invented the
telescope (in 1609),” said computer scientist Mark Seager of Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory.

Supercomputing has made huge advances over the last decade or so, gradually packing on
the ability to handle more and more data points in increasingly complex ways. It has
enabled scientists to test theories, design experiments and predict outcomes as never
before. But now, the new class of petaflop-scale machines is poised to bring about major
qualitative changes in the way science is done.

“The new capability allows you to do fundamentally new physics and tackle new problems,”
said Thomas Zacharia, who heads up computer science at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in
Tennessee, home of the second place Cray XT5 Jaguar supercomputer. “And it will
accelerate the transition from basic research to applied technology.”

Breaking the petaflop barrier, a feat that seemed astronomical just two years ago, won’t
just allow faster computations. These computers will enable entirely new types of science
that couldn’t have been done before. This new generation of petascale machines will move
scientific simulation beyond just supporting the two main branches of science, theory and
experimentation, and into the foreground. Instead of just hypotheses being tested with
experiments and observations, large-scale extrapolation and prediction of things we can’t
observe or that would be impractical for an experiment, will become central to many
scientific endeavors.

“It’s getting to the point where simulation is actually the third branch of science,”
Seager said. “We say that nature is always the arbiter of truth, but it turns out our
ability to observe nature is fundamentally limited.”

Source: Wired Science

This gives me goosebumps at just the thought of the potential!

I do not know if you have heard about the latest FDA proposal.  So, here is
the skinny.

They are proposing rules that would allow the sale of gene-altered milk or
meat without requiring labeling.  You and I, as consumers, have a NEED TO
KNOW what we are buying and putting on our families tables.

Personally, I have not consented to be experimented with genetically-modified
foods.

As of now, we have no idea how the food from gene-altered animals would
affect human health, wildlife, domesticated animals or the environment.  They
are talking about pigs that are going to have mouse genes in them to help
improve their digestion.  Why? They are talking about milk from cows engineered
to produce antibiotics.  Why?  They are talking about goats that produce
spider silk in their milk.  Why?  Where are the ethics?

Grrr!  So many questions and no answers.  And yet, the FDA is going to set
into motion rules that keep the consumers in the blind about what they are
going to buy, cook and eat by not requiring the labeling of these products.

Not only should the milk and meat from these animals be studied to determine
if they are safe, they should be labeled so we know exactly what we are buying.
But we only have until October 31 to gather comments to the FDA.

So, If you do not want to be a guinea pig, want the ability to know what we
are buying and eating, along with the right to say “NO” to gene-altered
food, sign this petition before October 31.

Let the FDA know how you feel for your family, the environment and humanity.

Afsaneh Rabiei, Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at
North Carolina State University, has invented a space-age material so light and
strong that it could revolutionize everything from vehicle bumpers to armor to
biomedical devices.  A brand new material that can save energy and lives.

“Basically, it is a new material for all sorts of safety devices,” said Rabiei
Her invention isn’t the first metal foam, but she says it’s the strongest. The main weakness of
existing metal foams is the varying sizes of their cells – tiny pockets
of space inside the material. Instead, Rabiei used cells of standard sizes and
combined them with a metallic matrix to support the cell walls.

The National Science Foundation awarded her a CAREER award in 2003, and her goal
with the funding was to develop a light, strong material that could be used saving
lives and energy in the aerospace, medical, automotive and other industries

After five years of work – with a group of her students – she has the results.
With a car going approx. 28 mph, her metal foam absorbs the impact which
feels like an impact at 5 mph. Probably not for the folks inside the car but
the end result is what the experiment showed.

The steel of a bumper is 3 times heavier than the steel foam.  The automotive
industry should take a hard look at this invention.  Not only does it improve
safety but gas mileage as well due to the lightness of steel foam.

Rabiei sees plenty of uses for her invention, including in airplanes, boats, and structures that
need impact protection with maintaining low weight. It’s this high strength-to-density ratio -
defining a material that’s both strong and light – that
makes Rabiei’s foam unique.

Do you hear a standing ovation from me?  This kind of news is exciting!

*  Congratulations, Professor Rabiei!

And we have lots to tell you about what Air Vehicle inventor Guy Negre and
his development team in Carros, France, are doing, including the October 9
announcement of a new Air Vehicle city transport solution called the AIRPod.
Also, all the Air Vehicles get new names!

When will the 4-door, six-seat US model be available? They expect it to be
manufactured in the US in 2010. They originally planned to take reservations for
the vehicle in 2008 but now plan do so in mid-2009 as we now anticipate demand
to far exceed the early production capability.

New AIRPod Urban Transporter Unveiled

A new compressed air vehicle has been welcomed into the MDI family. On October
9 MDI unveiled its answer to the need for clean air and urban mobility – the
AIRPod.  With its low price, zero pollution, high range and playful and futuristic
design, the AIRPod marks a turning point in the nexus of automobile and urban
transportation. And it will cost less than a Euro per 200 km to operate and will
leave no one stuck in traffic jams. The vehicle will be proposed for the City of
Paris’ AutoLib contract.

FlowAIR: Air Vehicle Gets a New Name

The air vehicles now have the model names that will be seen stamped on the
lightweight panels of the final production cars. MDI has announced the model
names it will use on its market models.  The overall car brand will be the FlowAIR.
The existing prototypes will retain thier first names to now become the One FlowAIR,
Mini FlowAIR, and City FlowAIR.  The urban public transportation concept vehicles
will be know as the Multi FlowAIR.  2-door Economy Car Now Undergoing Road Testing

At the New York car show in March this year, MDI and Zero Pollution Motors unveiled
MDI’s new economy/utility 2-door vehicle. At the time, MDI’s new compressed air
engine had not been fully tested in the design. Testing has since started and
reports from the MDI factory in Nice, France are that the engine and vehicle are
performing to expectations.

Economy model at New York Car Show

MDI Group, the French developer of the compressed air vehicle, and Zero Pollution
Motors (ZPM) showcased MDI’s newest compressed air vehicle at this year’s New York
International Auto Show (NYIAS) today, March 20. The vehicle was unveiled for for
its first public appearance ever at the Automotive X PRIZE (AXP) booth at the show
(see pictures). The economy/utility model will be produced by MDI for sale in France
and elsewhere in 2009 at a price of beginning at around $5,000-$6,000 for the basic
model.

New Supplemental Energy Engine Increases Air Car Range and Speed: How Does It Do
It?

What is so great about the new supplemental-energy compressed air engine (CAE)?
It will dramatically increase both range and speed — to the tune of 800 miles and
up to 100 mph — while producing much lower emissions than a conventional car engine
of the same power.

How does it work? Guy Negre and his MDI team have essentially taken the mono-energy
engine used in the Air Car prototype and added a supplementary energy source of
either fossil fuel (petrol, diesel or LPG) or biofuel (vegetable oil, alcohol,
biodiesel or even gas) to heat the compressed air inside a “heating chamber” as
it enters the engine. This process increases the volume of the compressed air.
The result is more sustained power to the engine, increasing vehicle range and
speed.

The heating chamber kicks in when the vehicle’s speed exceeds 35 miles per hour
or when the compressed-air tanks are empty. When in fuel mode, the car’s moto-
alternator refills the tank with compressed air as the vehicle moves. The new CAE
is expected to propel the MDI air car models at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour,
produce a range of over 800 miles from an 8-gallon tank of gas, and a fuel efficiency
of 106 MPG equivalent when in fuel-mode.

Of course, when operating on supplementary fuel the dual-energy engine — unlike
the mono-energy engine — does produce C02 emissions, but very little: only 0.158lbs
of CO2 per mile. This is up to 4 times less than the average vehicle and 2 times less
than the cleanest vehicle available today. (Toyota Prius 07 Emissions: 0.34 lbs of
CO2 per mile. Source: http://www.hybridcars.com)

Air Vehicle Entered in $10m X Prize Contest to Build Super-efficient Autos

MDI & ZPM Official Contenders

Early in 2007, Zero Pollution Motors and MDI were among the first to submit a
vehicle to compete for the $10 million Progressive Automotive X Prize. We recognized
that the X Prize was exactly what was needed to help move automobile production
toward more fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly alternatives. ZPM president
Shiva Vencat applauded the X Prize “for challenging the industry to embrace new ways
of thinking and breakthrough technology that will lessen its impact on the health of
the planet.” We saw the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE as presenting the ideal
opportunity for a vehicle powered by compressed air technology to be evaluated and
recognized as a viable alternative for the automobile industry – one that addresses
head on the issues of oil dependence and climate change caused by CO2 emissions.
The Progressive Automotive X Prize has since received widespread coverage and praise
for its initiative and Progressive insurance has announced a $10 million sponsorship
of the prize. A series of road races will be conducted beginning in 2009 that will
pit more than 120 teams, from 28 states and 17 countries, against each other. They
will compete for their share of a $10 million prize purse, which will be awarded
to those that can design and build production-capable, 100 MPGe (miles per gallon
energy equivalent) vehicles that people will want to buy and that meet market needs
for price, size, capability, safety and performance. More at www.progressiveautoxprize.com

This is exciting news!  I want one!!!!