Developers and manufacturers

Various companies are investing in the research, development and deployment of Compressed air cars. Overoptimistic reports of impending production date back to at least May 1999. For instance, the MDI Air Car made its public debut in South Africa in 2002, and was predicted to be in production "within six months" in January 2004. As of January 2009, the air car never went into production in South Africa. Most of the cars under development also rely on using similar technology to Low-energy vehicles in order to increase the range and performance of their cars.

MDI
Main article: Motor Development International

MDI has proposed a range of vehicles made up of AirPod, OneFlowAir, CityFlowAir, MiniFlowAir and MultiFlowAir.[19] One of the main innovations of this company is its implementation of its "active chamber", which is a compartment which heats the air (through the use of a fuel) in order to double the energy output.[20] This 'innovation' was first used in torpedoes in 1904.

Tata Motors

As of May 2007 Tata Motors of India had planned to launch a car with an MDI compressed air engine in 2008.[21] Tata subsequently announced that the technology was still in development stage and the launch of a commercially viable vehicle in the near future was not possible.[22]
In December 2009 Tata's vice president of engineering systems confirmed that the limited range and low engine temperatures were causing difficulties.[23]

Air Car Factories

Air Car Factories SA is proposing to develop and build a compressed air engine.[24] This Spanish based company was founded by Miguel Celades. Currently there is a bitter dispute between Motor Development International, another firm called Luis which developed compressed-air vehicles, and Mr. Celades, who was once associated with that firm.[25][26]

Energine

The Energine Corporation was a South Korean company that claimed to deliver fully assembled cars running on a hybrid compressed air and electric engine. These cars are more precisely named pneumatic-hybrid electric vehicles.[27] Engineers from this company made, starting from a Daewoo Matiz, a prototype of a hybrid electric/compressed-air engine (Pne-PHEV, pneumatic plug-in hybrid electric vehicle[citation needed]). The compressed-air engine is used to activate an alternator, which extends the autonomous operating capacity of the car.
The CEO is the first compressed air car promoter to be arrested for fraud.[28]
A similar (but only for braking energy recovery) concept using a pneumatic accumulator in a largely hydraulic system has been developed by U.S. government research laboratories and industry, and is now being introduced for certain heavy vehicle applications such as refuse trucks.[29]

K'Airmobiles

K'Airmobiles vehicles were intended to be commercialized from a project developed in France in 2006-2007 by a small group of researchers. However, the project has not been able to gather the necessary funds.
People should note that, meantime, the team has recognized the physical impossibility to use on-board stored compressed air due to its poor energy capacity and the thermal losses resulting from the expansion of the gas.
These days, using the patent pending 'K'Air Fluid Generator', converted to work as a compressed-gas motor, the project should be launched in 2010, thanks to a North American group of investors, but for the purpose of developing first a green energy power system.

Engineair

Engineair is an Australian company which manufactures small industrial vehicles using an air engine of its own design.

Инновация, обещающая стать революционной, пришла, откуда не ждали… из Индии. Компания Tata уже готова к производству автомобиля, работающего на сжатом воздухе. Не став особенно мудрствовать и растекаться мыслию по древу, индусы назвали будущую машину Air Car, то есть воздушный автомобиль.

Справедливости ради надо заметить, что уникальный двигатель – это достижение не столько Tata, сколько французского конструктора Гая Негре, в свое время, причастного к технологиям Формулы 1. Принцип работы мотора Негре кроется в смешении горячего и холодного воздуха, сжатого до давления в 300 атмосфер. Два этих потока, попадая в одну емкость, начинают резко расширяться, дальше за дело берутся обычные механизмы ДВС - расширяющейся газ двигает поршни, те, в свою очередь, вращают коленвал ит.д.

Преимущества нового типа топлива очевидны: никаких вредных выхлопов, экономия расходных материалов, так масло можно будет менять только после 50 000 км, и, главное, дешевизна самого топлива – на любой АЗС можно под завязку накачать 340-литровый карбоновый баллон сжатым воздухом в каких-то две минуты. По расчетам производителей, эта операция обойдется владельцу Air Car не дороже полутора долларов, если же водитель не хочет поступиться даже такой малой суммой, то с помощью прилагающегося компрессора и обыкновенной розетки он сможет заправить машину самостоятельно в домашних условиях, правда, уже за четыре часа.