Compressed Air

The world's largest and, more importantly, most efficient clean compressed air energy storage system is up and running, connected to a city power grid in northern China. It'll store up to 400 MWh of energy and release enough power for 40-60,000 homes.

Bicycle tire pressure is a compromise – high pressure is best on smooth roads, while low pressure is better on rough terrain. The Scope Atmoz system allows cyclists to incrementally switch back and forth between the two, while the bike is in motion.

It's a sad fact that people with severe respiratory illnesses are often confined to hospitals, where they must breathe through ventilators. A new portable device that harvests oxygen from the air, however, may someday allow them to stay at home.

Maltese startup Magtor is starting to gain worldwide attention for a new linear compressor design that pumps in both directions. The Magtorpressor's radical efficiency over today's tech could make it a key weapon in the fight against climate change.

Robotic hands do show a lot of promise for various applications, but their mechanical complexity still limits their possible uses. A new air-powered hand is much simpler, but still dextrous enough to be utilized to play a video game.

California is set to be home to two new compressed-air energy storage facilities – each claiming the crown for world’s largest non-hydro energy storage system. Developed by Hydrostor, the facilities will have an output of 500 MW and capacity of 4 GWh.

Soft robots are gaining a lot of attention in research circles, and from an engineering lab at the University of California, San Diego comes an interesting new example of this technology in the form of a robot that can move without any electronics.

When it comes to portable bicycle tire-inflating devices, hand pumps require a lot of effort, while CO2 cartridges are single-use only. The aluminum Choka bike frame offers an alternative, by doubling as a compressed air tank.

This California company says its oil-free, centrifugal air compressor design, inspired by the air pumps used in sixteenth-century Catalonian blacksmith forges, is quieter, cleaner, longer lasting, and cheaper to run than traditional piston designs.

Portable, cordless air-compressors aren't new, but they're often bulky, limited in scope and ugly. In response to these issues, a team of engineers and product designers fro Hong Kong has come up with the Norshire Mini. A compact, minimalist, multi-function pump/compressor for the iPhone generation.

It's safe to say that generally-speaking, electricity and water don't mix. So, what do you do if you're designing a powered wheelchair for use in a splash park? If you're part of a team at the University of Pittsburgh, you power it using compressed air.

The rapid growth of solar arrays and wind farms might sound like a win for the environment, but storing renewable sources of energy efficiently on the grid​ remains a challenge for energy providers. EU scientists are turning to a cheap and plentiful natural resource for the answer: air.