The air-powered car set to dominate the world and was a failure: Now we know what happened

Tata Motors, one of the biggest automobile companies in India, planned in the mid-2000s to change the face of the automotive business by developing an automobile that runs on compressed air.

The idea offered a future of cars without any emissions that could be powered by compressed air, the perfect solution for a world dealing with pollution and higher fuel costs. However, as with many such ambitious projects, the plan did not succeed.

(The ambitious vision: Tata’s partnership with MDI))

In 2007, Tata Motors unveiled yet another historic deal with Motor Development International (MDI), a luxury firm based in Luxembourg involved in developing automobiles using compressed air.

The design concept was to develop a vehicle powered only by compressed air, thus providing a more environmentally friendly solution than standard gasoline engines. The first press release was followed by great interest, and many people were already picturing themselves in air-powered cars only.

MDI, headed by the former Formula 1 engineer Guy Negre, had already worked on several prototypes, including the MiniCAT, a small city car that runs on compressed air. The idea was radical yet crucial – no toxic emissions and eco-friendly fuel.

Tata Motors perceived this as a chance to diversify and change the world auto industry. However, this project had many technical issues right from the word go, and therefore, the following account of events provides an accurate picture of what transpired.

High-pressure air storage was dangerous in a vehicle and demanded strong, costly tanks, making production on a large scale improbable. However, the energy used to compress the air reduced some of the company’s environmental gains.
One of the significant highlighted problems was how to store compressed air.

To have the practical range, the air had to be stored at extremely high pressure, and this required powerful tanks, which were expensive. The cost and the complexity of manufacturing such tanks made the whole project economically unviable.

The other big issue was the energy efficiency used in the system. Even though the air-powered engine emitted no pollution (alongside other advantages that made it excellent), compressing air required significant energy. This energy was often generated from non-renewable sources, thus reducing the general environmental returns on the technology.

Another challenge that made the situation worse was logistical.
The people of the region protested the first location in West Bengal, and after much loss, the company had to move to Gujarat.

By the end of 2012, the first testing phase was over, but the firm was progressing slowly towards commercial production. The company ceased reporting progress on the particular project, and it was soon lost in the news cycle.

Ref: The air-powered car set to dominate the world and was a failure: Now we know what happened