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July 17, 2004
TheAirCar makes progress (according to their press release
got this in the e-mail inbox...
A car powered by air. Sounds too good to be true. They are signing production deals. Just in Europe though. I bet they don't get the US crash test stuff done. Very tricky. But I will be one of the first buyers when they do!
PRESS RELEASE
The Air Car enters the home straight
The recent presentation of the Air Car at the European Fuel Cell Forum in Switzerland and the sale of a number of licences in Spain and Italy allow a glimpse of an imminent entry to market for the eagerly awaited ecological vehicle.
MDI, the company which invented the Air Car, on the 30th June presented its CityCats vehicle at the European Fuel Cell Forum in Lucerne, Switzerland. This forum, dedicated to an other transport alternative (hydrogen), gave MDI the recognition of the automotive industry, presenting the invention as "Compressed Air: The Most Sustainable Energy Carrier for Commuting Vehicles". The vehicle drove around the roads in Lucerne, driven by Dr Rudolf Rechsteiner, member of Swiss Parliament, who demonstrated his keen interest in a technology that could cause a paradigm shift in automobiles.
The meeting was of primary importance if we take into account the range of vehicles on offer today. The transport sector has reached a crucial stage. The Bush administration has cancelled proposals to investigate regular engines and meanwhile the manufacturers of electric cars have thrown in the towel due to the high production costs and the difficulty in maintenance associated with low mileage. In terms of a hydrogen car proposal, reliable sources do not expect one to reach market before 10 or 15 years, leaving the public with no real alternative. In this context, the MDI technology is the only viable proposal in the short and medium term and that is why the Fuel Cell Forum organisers presented MDI as the best existing solution for transport.
But the MDI compressed air engine is not only applicable to the automotive sector. Its technology is opening a new path of choice in other areas, such as buses, electric co-generation, compressor groups and marine applications. On 1st July in Madrid, Spain, the signing took place for the sale of licences for co-generation and buses in Spain. The investing company has signed an agreement worth 24 million Euros which will focus on a first phase of production of co-generation groups. MDI is also in talks with a Spanish company to reach a similar deal for Portugal.
Spain and Italy are the first countries to sign the agreement for the manufacture of electricity production groups. These systems allow a big saving while offering a solution to a recurring problem: how to produce energy locally according to the production and necessities of consumption. The MDI groups can also be installed in racks, offering an expandable solution which can be applied to a group of houses as well as to an isolated home or without connection to the network. The MDI proximity groups are the solution for providing electricity in developing countries where electricity cables and pylons cannot be installed due to the high cost involved. All these proposals are in pre-commercialisation phase, bringing to an end a long investigation which has resulted in a clean, ecological solution applicable from transport to energy production. MDI is now offering manufacturing licences for each of these products for the different countries of the world.
http://www.theaircar.com (English)
http://www.motordeaire.com (Español)
http://www.motormdi.com (Português)
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For more information about:
Presentation of the MDI car in Switzerland:
http://www.motordeaire.com/Lucerna.html (Spanish)
Application of the engine for public transport:
http://www.theaircar.com/Multicats.html
http://www.theaircar.com/further_applications.html
Formulas and comparisons:
http://www.theaircar.com/ficha.html
Technical report by the prestigious "École des Mines" in Paris:
http://www.motordeaire.com/Mines.html (Spanish)
Refilling systems for CATs vehicles and possible alternatives:
http://www.theaircar.com/station.html
Requests for further information: :
http://www.theaircar.com/investors_contactform.html
Posted by Martin at July 17, 2004 9:08 PM
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