| Project Detail |
Air compressors are important because they are used by all sections of industry to supply air for a wide range of manufacturing processes. Air compressors consume 10% of EU industrial energy use which equates to approximately 10TWh of electricity and 4.3M tonnes of CO2 per annum.
Both financial and regulatory pressures (Article 8(4) of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive) are raising the profile of industrial energy use. Audits of compressor systems reveal opportunities to upgrade with a short return on investment due to the expensive nature of wasted and leaked air; the Lontra solution presents the possibility of over 20% energy savings, which is equivalent to approximately 20TWh of electricity, and 860,000 tonnes of CO2 saved pa across the EU.
Food and Pharmaceutical manufacturers use oil-free, low pressure air compression technologies (known as ‘blowers’) but the core designs date back to before 1935. By investing in a clean sheet design Lontra have leapfrogged the competition and created a new state of the art technology with significantly improved efficiency and reliability; the Blade Compressor®.
Our Phase 1 market research project, enabled us to better understand the work needed to develop the Blade Compressor® from TRL6 technology to TRL8 for the Food and Pharmaceutical markets, as well as mapping out our routes to market and next steps. A Phase 2 SME Instrument support would take us through the next risky technology development and market engagement – opening up significant market opportunities, accelerating Lontra’s growth and raising the bar of air compressor efficiency across industry. |
