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Got someplace to go?

Imagine leaving your fuel-cell powered home and hopping into your clean-running Air Car!

This isn't a dream of the future. The technology is here and as for the Air Car, it's already in production in other countries. Proponents of green technology, which is designed to enhance our lifestyles and protect our fragile environment, couldn't be happier.

Last week, Bloom Energy, a California company, showed off its fuel cell, which was designed to power our homes in the future, therefore reducing our dependence on foreign oil. The biggest drawback is price. A box of fuel cells contained in a large filing cabinet, which would be the power plant for the home, now costs about $700,000.

The hope is that the cost of the new technology will continue to decrease much like the costs of computers over the last decade to the point where consumers can afford the alternative energy source.

Changes outside the home, with vehicle travel, are just as dramatic. Even Pat Boone, that ageless wonder in American entertainment, is on board promoting the Air Car which he says can replace that gas guzzler parked in your driveway.

Air Cars are already being manufactured and marketed in countries like Norway, India and Great Britain. The simple concept hardly needs a sales pitch. It runs on air, which is free and abundant, and will not damage the environment.

Tata Motors and Luxembourg Motor Development International developed the Air Car prototype in 2008. The vehicle, similar in size to a Smart Car, is run by compressed air. It can be "refueled" either at air fill-up stations, or can be charged overnight using an on-board air compressor.

The car can go 120 miles on a "tank of air" which costs about two or three dollars to fill. And of course, there are no exhaust fumes, already a selling point for grocers in Australia, who do not want their fresh products contaminated by exhaust fumes during delivery.

While Bloom Energy says its fuel cell to power the home is at least a decade away for most consumers, the Air Car that Pat Boone is promoting could literally be just around the corner for Americans.

An end to high utility and gasoline bills? Don't give up hope.

By Jim Zbick

jzbick@tnonline.com