The Air Car's engine runs on expansion not combustion. Unlike fuel cells, compressed air is not stored in a toxic environment so already it is more environmentally friendly than batteries. Also, the Air Car uses very little energy to refill itself. From the site:

The car's air tanks will be refilled thanks to the engine working in compressor mode. This will take about six hours. Otherwise the tanks can be refilled with high pressure in three minutes at an air station. The cost of refueling with the generator will be approximately 1.5 Euros.

Okay, it's going to cost more running the engine in compressor mode plugged into an adaptor at home, but no more than running your computer or TV (and a lot less than running an electric car or a hybrid).

Perhaps we have gone in the wrong direction with combustion engines. Why pay for fuel when air itself creates no pollution and is as free as ... the air?

A stylish French solution to a large part of our global pollution problem.


"When men yield up the privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the horizon." Thomas Paine