The Oil Drum

Well, this thing will require new infrastructure. Lots of air compressors at stations which can refill the tank, or swap in a new tank, in just a few minutes. Remember it's a 300lt tank for 200km of driving, which with a fossil fuel vehicle would be 20lt of fuel. So you're talking about a tank 15 times bigger. It's basically the average family car's boot. That also means 15 times bigger "fuel" tanker trucks, and so on. So it's not a simple thing to change over all these servos.

You come then to a bit of a problem. Nobody will buy the thing unless it can be refuelled at most servos, and no servos will buy the infrastructure unless lots of the things are on the roads already.

And there's the refuelling time. And as with electric vehicles, people don't want to drive 100km and then wait four hours before they can go again. A fossil fuel vehicle, however shitty its mileage may be at least you can fill it up quickly.

So the thing would be a difficult sell, I'd say. Realistically if it gets you 100km and can be recharged overnight, then that's going to take care of 99% of trips private drivers make. But drivers will say, "what about if I want to drive to Woop Woop which is 450km away..." They might in fact do it only once every two years, but when you sell people something, you're not just selling them what they actually do with it, you're selling them a dream. That's why all those 4WDs get sold. "Ah, if only I had a 4WD then I'd drive all round Australia instead of just to work as a boring old accountant. All I need is the right vehicle, and I'll be freeeee!" Of course it's bullshit, but it's what sells stuff.

Also my understanding is that this air car, along with the electric vehicles, has a very light body and shell. That's necessary to get good "mileage", they couldn't get anywhere with steel, but it gives problems with current Western safety regulations. Carbon fibre's nice and light, but if you smack into it you don't get that energy-absorbing crumple, it just shatters.

I dunno, it looks like another example of Science! at work. We're forver being promised some wonderful new technology, and it's always "just a few years away from commercial sale." I'm glad to see innovation, but I'll believe it's practical when I see it for sale in the shops.