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Will compressed air engines be the next big thing?

If your car ran on compressed air, you would have a cheap source of power already available throughout the country at gas stations, convenience stores and in at least half the private homes in the nation – an air compressor.
Posted: August 30, 2011 - 4:47PM
Author: Don Bain

Compressed air vehicles have been in use in Europe for years. Now an American company is developing the technology for utilization in vehicles where safety is as important as cheap power.

W2 Energy, Inc. has announced significant progress in its development of a commercially viable compressed air engine. The company has modified its SteamRay engine to run on compressed air up to 3600 PSI calling the compressed air engine the AirRocket.

The AirRocket can be used to power a vehicle or convert compressed air into energy as in the Compressed Air Energy System (CAES) designed by AzRISE.

Mike McLaren, president and CEO of W2 Energy, recently returned from Tucson, Arizona, where he spent 3 days at a demonstration of the AzRISE CAES system.

After returning to Guelph, Ontario, McLaren has worked to build an AirRocket mated with the AzRISE system. Once tested, the entire CAES system will be installed for further testing at the Tucson Electric Power site that utilizes Solon solar technology.

W2 Energy is currently working on a 65 horsepower version of the AirRocket, planned to power an advanced composite motorcycle, part of a joint venture with a major custom motorcycle builder.

"The AirRocket engine development is driving much of our new technology," says Mike McLaren. "Whether as a power plant for vehicles or as part of an energy storage and recovery system, we think the AirRocket will dramatically add to W2 Energy's bottom line."

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