Magnetic Air Car Could Be Ready by 2010

Written by Ariel Schwartz

Last week, I took a trip down to San Jose for West Coast Green, an environmentally-focused conference with an emphasis on sustainable building. One booth stood out from the crowd—Magnetic Air Cars, Inc.. The San Jose-based company claims that it is working on the world’s first fuel-less car.

The Magnetic Air Car uses three on-board substations to harness compressed air. The resulting airflow is channeled, modulated, and converted to torque that propels the car.

According to company representative Paul Donovan, the car uses a silicon salt battery that has 30% more mass power than a lead acid storage battery and can charge completely within an hour. The 95 percent recyclable battery can also can be used in a temperature range from -40 degrees Celsius to 50 degrees Celsius.

Though the Magnetic Air Car has not yet been tested, Donovan hopes to have it ready for production by 2010. The company plans on building its first prototype at Club Auto Sport in San Jose in the near future.

The car draws comparisons to Tata Motors’ compressed-air powered vehicle, but Donovan says that the Tata Motors design uses pistons while the Magnetic Air Car design uses magnetic technology.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any more details available on the Magnetic Air Car at this time. But if the prototype is successful, I’m sure we’ll hear plenty more about this company.