compressed air technology

How about an all-terrain bike for short commutes and off-road racing that never needs gas? The O2 Pursuit is dubbed an urban motorcycle and was featured in the Melbourne Design Awards this December. Compressed air from a portable tank provides the energy to drive a small engine, a concept which has been proven on larger vehicles already headed towards production.

Of course fossil fuels might be burned to generate the electricity required to compress the air. Ideally the system would use clean energy to accomplish the task, such as solar or wind. After the tanks are full the designers envision a place where riders could swap out air tanks quickly and be on their way.

Up to 1,000 miles on one tank of gas? One eight gallon tank of gas? The engine that makes this possible, first introduced over 10 years ago by French inventor Guy Negre, runs on compressed air. Now Zero Pollution Motors (ZPM) plans to release the CityCAT, a six-passenger sedan using this technology,

to the Northeastern US by early 2010. The range and speed capabilities of the CityCAT are enhanced by using a small amount of fuel to heat the compressed air and increase air pressure. To recharge the air tanks the vehicle