Tata Motors Mini CAT Air Car to debut in 2012

By Brett Davis | October 17th, 2011

Tata Motors and ex-Formula One engineer Guy N. from a Luxembourg MDI have come up with a car that runs on air. Dubbed the Tata Mini CAT, or Air Car, the environmentally-friendly car uses no petrol, requires little maintenance and has a range of around 300km between re-gassing. Tata hopes to have it on the market in India in 2012.

The way the Air Car is propelled is fairly straight forward. There are two tanks of compressed air which turn an almost-conventional piston motor and drive system. The system is said to propel the small van to a top speed of around 105km/h.

Tata says the Air Car stores enough compressed air to offer around 300km worth of motoring. Users will then be able to re-gas the car at certain filling stations that are equipped with special tanks of compressed air, in around three to four minutes for around $2. It will also come with its own generator pack which can be used at home capable of re-gassing the tanks in around four hours.

The vehicle itself is a six-seat mini van using two 340-litre carbon fibre gas tanks which are filled with air to 4350psi. It also uses a tubular chassis design with fibreglass panels that are glued together, helping to keep weight down.

All the accessories and in-car equipment are powered by a microprocessor. From the exhaust the only thing that is emitted is air, of around zero to minus 15 degrees in temperature.

Tata is aiming to release the Mini CAT Air Car in India next year with prices starting at around $12,700.

vx

First question, if technology is available for $2/100km with compress air, why wouldn’t people around the world have done that?

this is worse than so call $35 tablet and $100 laptop

test drive

Obviously people have. Google MDI or air car. This technology has been around for a long time but I suspect (warning – conspiracy theory) our government makes it difficult to adopt. ADR requirements are not geared around efficiency and the government is addicted to oil taxes. This engine can run on a cup of vegetable oil for lubrication and apart from that you could have a compressor at home to charge it (although it’s no ordinary compressor to produce the super high pressures required).
It this was available here I’d certainly buy one. It’s ideal for our mostly hot climate because of adiabatic cooling that occurs when the highly compressed air loses it’s pressure though the engine. This means plenty of cold air for air conditioning the car! In fact the biggest problem a car with this engine has is producing heat to warm the occupants on a cold day.

GMoney

Do you know how I would make one of these cars?

Jacob

That’s like saying Tata shouldnt have purchased Jaguar.
slugghead

$2/300km?!!! thats crazy!! that will incredibly boost everyones motivation and hardwork…..negatively
JTW

when someone found a way here to refine cooking oil into fuel for cars, the government (not AU, EU) quickly banned the practice under the “logic” that as cooking fuel doesn’t have fuel taxes added to it it isn’t allowed for use as a fuel for motor vehicles.
Same would be true for air, unless you’re willing to pay €1.50 per liter for the air you breath, which is roughly the gasoline tax here.
carlos

How stupid of a question is this? do you know the power the oil companies have, do you think they want this technolgy out< no ! thats why when ever someelse comes up with alternitive enrgy they kill them or make a maulery out of them. tHis is factual stuff many inventors are killed and sanction by the CIA wich is owned by the biggest bidder, the oil campanies. I would love to see this happen in my life time, but people like al gore that say one thing but invest in another will not let alternitive energy sources out. How about the perpetual motion generator that can power a 5k sq ft home, thats been ridiculed and demonised for 10 years, that dont mean that we dont have it. its being sold on the black market and you better not let know electric compnay know you have it. We have enery all sorts but the controller have not let us have them until they can make money on it. Just saying

vx

Ah it is actually saying $2/300km
Kev

Will this car contribute to global cooling and the need for a compressed air tax

Julia

Yes there will be a compressed air tax , we are currently NEGOSIATING with mr brown on what draconian level we shall impose , but mark my words all poor bogans will be compensated .
Rangere

so hitting a gasoline tank is ok though?

http://www.facebook.com/JimmyJoeyJoeJoeJuniorShabado James Hadley

These have been looked at before and are great! but.. when they have an accident those tanks go off like bombs BIG bombs. They will never be legal in any country that values the lives of its motorists.

Wood Duck

This concept has been around for years. The tanks don’t explode, they are usually carbon fibre wrapped or some type of synethic rather than being alloy or steel. This way if they are damaged they will fracture and release their pressure rather than explode catastrophically. The question does remain though, if this concept is so good why is it still not in mass production.

test drive

All true, the tanks “rupture” which is to say, release the high pressure air over a large area very quickly. It’s not without risk, but neither is carrying a tank full of highly flammable liquid like we all carry in our cars EVERYDAY!
Tall Pete

The problem with the air car is that you cannot store a lot of energy in compressed air. So the range of the car has always been a problem. It was never 300 km. I doubt they really reached that stage unless they are heating the air in it’s way back to the engine to expand it but then you have emission.

I’ll wait to see one before believing it has so much range and so high a top speed.
Tbenke

Follow the money… Existing entities protect their turf i.e. the oil companies.

Azzaa

So LPG then.. Does not go boom?

http://www.facebook.com/JimmyJoeyJoeJoeJuniorShabado James Hadley

LPG isn’t at 5000PSI
Freddo

Nope- they have pressure release valves these days
The Rite Man

LPG and Hydrogen is a gas that disipates too quickly to be a real threat! Gasoline is more dangerous. What about Electric cars? The battery acid is a huge issue in auto accidents. All you idiots who bought a Toyota Prius never though you were killing the environment with your battery acid and recycle costs not to mention it still runs on Gasoline. Why are we even concerned about oil when most of our oil is used up in plastics, tires and almost everything else we take for granted. Gaslone is a small consumer. Global Warming is fake anyway and just because the threat of killing the world outweighs basic logic. There is so much money to be maid in global warming it is as bad as the oil companies. We are all screwed by the corruption and our ability to make informed descisions.

Lalit Joshi

They have thought of this, the tank is made of a material which in event of accident will break but not explode. Its tested for being safe in an event of collision.
http://www.facebook.com/micheal.kaplan1 Micheal Kaplan

wow you fail at life. what about lpg tanks? hell right circumstances a petrol tank will explode aswell.
B Street

I think you will find petrol can explode in an accident as well
Tbenke

Not too much different from a 20 gallon gasoline tank!!

Daniel

Nice Taxi. This will never see light of day in “Western” economies. The Oil wholesalers and retailers will make sure of it. Although, $2 a refill for a resource that is free (like water) means they could make alot of profit…

bob

You didn’t think that through did you? The resource (compressed air) is not free. Compressing that much air requires large amounts of energy in the form of electricity to run the compressor. Where exactly do you think that electricity come from? From the main power line…. which is mostly coal power plants. This thing would not have cheaper nor cleaner overall costs then basic gas cars.

doug

bob, sound’s like *you* are the one not thinking it thru - while it certainly will require electricity from power plants to compress the air, it won’t be too much; otherwise, it wouldn’t cost only $2 to refill a tank to go 300km. duh!

http://www.aircars.tk Aircars.tk

Hi,
I don’t know where the author got his information. Tata has signed an agreement with MDI early 2007 to use the compressed air technology of MDI in India only, in any way it wants. The photos shown are of a kind of early prototype by MDI that has been abandoned since long, and also the name Minicat has been abandoned in 2008. After having lost interest for a while, Tata now considers seriously the possibility of bringing to market a car that runs on compressed air(possibly in a hybrid version). MDI itself is ready to produce its first tiny city model, the Airpod, but for the time being lacks the finances to do so. The audience is divided between people who applaud this new green mobility, and others who say it cannot work or even those who call the whole thing a scam. I have driven an Airpod myself in May 2011 and therefor I can testify that it works. Have a look at my website http://www.aircars.tk if you want to know more, and read the regularly updated news section.

peter

“…and therefor I can testify that it works.”

Yes, for exactly 7 kilometers.
Now stop this publicity for a dead-born project. If you can’t resolve a 100 year old thermodynamic equation, you shouldn’t at least fool other people with it.

Fazwood

The voice of reason speaks!! all the talk of oil companies stopping this technology is a laugh, all the talk of danger from compressed air tanks vs LPG or petro is nonsense. Compressed air is not comparable to today liquid fuels in terms of engery storage. The cooling effect is offset by heat generated during compression. We need more real scientists and engineers if we are ever going to solve our looming peak oil challenges/catastrophe (depending on your optimism Joe the engineer, USA

Stumpy

This system makes more sense then any electrical system that has been put forward or hydrogen system.

But no one will make enough profit out of the refueling/taxing so we won’t see this as wide spread as it should be.

No fuel no massively expensive battery no chance in hell it’ll it’ll make it to a western market on a large scale because there’s no huge mark up to be made on the post sale running of the system or taxation kick back to governments.

Sad really.

Matty B

I would love to know how many patents for Air and Water engines big fuel companies own. Cause unfortunately that where they normally end up.

http://freedom00is00earned.blogspot.com Patrick Donnelly

All patents run out before 20 years pass!

Jerrycan

The claim of $2/300 klm seems a bit low, you still have to use electricity off the mains to run the pump and I don’t thnk it will much more efficient than charging a battery.

The ‘exhaust’ could be used to run an aircon system, but forget heating in winter. I cannot see western drivers suffering that.
Also power for radio wipers, headlights cannot be provided by air power very efficiently.

And yes compressed air engines were around when steam engines were considered state of the art.
jaiHIND

onya, TATAs are many steps ahead than mahindras and of many others; with wealth over $100 Billion they got enough to do aquisitions and experiments.
Charlie A

Would the author of this article provide some references?

It appears to be a rehash/reprint of announcements made in 2008 saying that the cars would be on the streets of India in Summer of 2009. (Or maybe it was 2007 articles with planned intro in 2008).

Since then, Tata Motors has said that the range was inadequate and there were technical problems and that the project was indefinitely suspended.
Peanut

Solar Panels on the roof could power compressors to refill the tank while your are parked at work for example.

Jerrycan

Not really, the roof area is only enough to power one of those really cheap compressors that are only just good enough for footballs. They take over 10 minutes for a tyre.
Your normal commercial compressor/tank operates at about 150/200 psi and this operates at 4350 psi.
Do you know how hot things get compressing air to that pressure.
Much as I like the idea I think some of the claims are a bit optimistic, which is not uncommon.

Mike Kelly75

SCUBA tanks are 4500PSI and I get mine refilled all the time! They are also safe and very hard to punture.

Hung Low

Sounds good but I really think the re-gassing procedure will be more complex than stated as that is a massive amount of pressure that needs to be squeezed into those tanks. At least you wont need to worry about a flat tyre anymore!
http://seventhsonrainmaker.com GEORGE RHODES

My father invented inflight refueling and designed dc 10 dc12. he told me his idea about air poured cars a long time ago. I have made improvements, are you able to buy one can I get on the waiting list or better yet may
I become a distributing company in Fullerton CA. please I love your air power cars. There are many empty car lots to fill please let me create the best show room and maintain a high volume import deluxe platform for this master piece. thank you.
SEVENTH SON RAIN MAKER GEORGE F. RHODES
RHODES EMPIRE
Javed Khattak

I would like to join the queue ,where I can deposit the money to own the car.
Jacob

The compressed air tank might be a good alternative to KERS in Formula 1 or normal vehicles.
Gurjeet

Hope someone is not making an “October Fool” of us ! If its true, then nothing more amazing. Great going….we need to have something like this to save all falling world economies
http://www.higear.com/brands/lincoln/ Lincoln Rental

What do the police need with a car anyways? Probably to go run the chief’s errands
kiwiguy

Just waiting for the day when a car manufacturer miraculously comes up with a Wind-up rubber band car and say they have developed the technology to make it go 400km at 150kmph. Just takes 4 days to wind up and no power just muscle!
Haha

Hi,

6 persons travelling 300 km Or 300,000 meters = 600 Kg X 300,000 X 9.81N = 1765800,000 nm (Newton meter)
= 490 Kwh (Kilo Watt hour)

1 Kilo watt hour = 1 unit of electricity = Rs. 4.5

Even if we assume the compressor efficiency as 100%, you need Rs. 2000 ($ 40) of electricity to move those people.

This is definitely an October fool news, as $2 of electricity to move 6 persons over 300 km is not possible.
Yesiam

I have a rubber band powered car that I will sell you at half the price. and you don’t have to get to a station, just rewind it where ever it stops.
R. A. Woodman

Thoughts: 1) something that a wind turbine in the back yard might provide enough juice for recharging.
2) I never heard of tata can they actually make something that works or is this another Tucker automobile
R. A. Woodman

Thoughts: 1) something that a wind turbine in the back yard might provide enough juice for recharging.
2) I never heard of tata can they actually make something that works or is this another Tucker automobile

Shakeel-ali

Google them. They are a filthy rich conglomerate who just happen to own Jaguar and Land Rover.
SS

Mate… You don’t know tata? Time to google.. you will be surprised at what all they do..

Avagadro

Charlie A, you are right on.
Aircars.tk,.. you spout nonsense, and time has proven Negre to be a liar, his promises never come to fruition, face reality, if the car worked as promised, money would not be an issue.

This “Air Car” has been promised for over the last 10 years.
taxis promised for Mexico City in 2001, factories in South Africa in 2003, Air cars from Tata etc…
Tata has made announcements that they have no plans to produce this car because it does not live up to the claims. Negre was a failed Formula 1 designer, his race cars never completed a Formula 1 race. Spend some time, research, before you believe this scam. Ask the investors who put money down on franchises 10 years ago how they feel about this.
The test vehicles never came close to their claims. Anyone can promise, few can deliver. This is a fool’s dream. Simple thermodynamics refutes the claims.
Vabreland

“Since then, Tata Motors has said that the range was inadequate and there were technical problems and that the project was indefinitely suspended.”….. this sounds like “PR speak” for the oil companies have bought the patents….
Jim Yates

How fast would this thing be moving when the psi drops to a few hundred?
Morganbrody28

sure itll be cheap to use but im sure it will cost you your am and leg and perhaps your backbone to fix it.
Morganbrody28

plus its ugly
Michael Rowlett

compressed air was a common way to move steam trains in munitions yards… so there is certainly enough power for work if the tank is large enough to hold a sufficient store of pressure. is it practical for a car – steam might actually be more practical, but it just sounds so last century. even if it is actually a very reasonable technology.
Lazzarin Patrizia

MiniCat on google by typing in Italian does not get anything. I had to type on google in English to find some information.
Anonymous

This is a SCAM. I can’t believe people fall for this. Negre is getting rich selling licenses to distribute this thing. Oh well, suckers and their money are soon parted.
Alphonse

J’en veux UN!!!!!
Adam

Compressed air can provide a decent amount of power – it used to (and still can) power all sorts of heavy underground mining equipment. My only doubt is how far you can really go on a couple of 350 litre tanks of compressed air…
Millsy_666

i have seen a working compressed air “golf cart” it fills up via a normal factory type air compressor, of corse it’s range isin’t far and it’s not for heavy loads but the theory is solid, like others have said tho i am scepitical about the range and top speed, also if u have ever used any compressed device you should realise the emptier the tank gets the slower the flow.
Daniel M

An electric car with regenerative braking goes 3-4 miles per kwh of energy. At a cheap rate of $0.1/kwh, a $2 charge would mean 20kwh, or 60-80 miles ideal NO LOSSES range. Assuming NO LOSSES for the compressed air car, the range would be ideally 60-80 miles. But the cruel reality is that no energy transformation from one form to another can be done with 100% efficiency. For electric, the battery charge has about 80-85% efficiency (good batteries), and the motor about 85-90%. So the overall efficiency (multiply the individual efficiencies) for electric is about 75% or 45-60 miles range.
For the air car, I expect even less efficiency due to the thermal energy lost in the compression of the air, let aside the Carnot cycle efficiencies in converting pressure and thermal (from ambient 25 degrees centigrade-high pressure to let say -10 degrees centigrade for exhaust, a total of 35 degrees – about 10 times less than the gas combustion engines). An idealistic educated guess would be about 50%, or 30-40 miles (48-64 km).
But lets be generous and consider efficiencies close to the electric car, you can count on a 40 miles (64 km) range for a $2 charge. This would be equivalent to about $1 per gallon of gasoline on an average small car (20 MPG).

Maybe somebody smarter will calculate the real potential energy stored in this tanks (2×340 liters at 300 bar and 23 degrees Celsius).
http://profile.yahoo.com/EQNIEJSJFQJUSM4DT5JZZUT5YA John

how come there is no mention of this on TATA;s web Site….

5cups

This is not new.Google Mini Cat and you’ll get info. One of the features that shot this idea down before was the idea of riding around on the equivalence of 2 oil drums, pressurized to a level that could level a duplex on rupture that could happen after a 10 km impact , appealled to few.