Breathing New Life Into Air Compressors: UK Inventor Steve Lindsey Named European Inventor Award 2017 Finalist

News provided by

The European Patent Office (EPO)

26 Apr, 2017, 11:00 BST

MUNICH, April 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

  • British inventor Steve Lindsey nominated for developing energy-efficient air compressor 
  • Lindsey's Blade Compressor can deliver energy savings of more than 20% 
  • Air compressors make up 10% of Europe's industrial electricity use 
  • EPO President Battistelli: "Lindsey's invention has the potential to make an impact on worldwide energy consumption." 

The European Patent Office (EPO) has named Steve Lindsey as a finalist for the European Inventor Award 2017 for developing an energy-efficient air compressor, delivering energy savings of more than 20%. He has been named finalist in the category "Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises". The winners of the 12th edition of the EPO's annual innovation prize will be announced at a ceremony in Venice on 15 June.

Air compressors are used in countless applications, from manufacturing machinery to fridges and air conditioning. And they use up vast amounts of energy - some 10% of Europe's overall industrial electricity use. Despite their prevalence, modern piston compressors have remained largely unchanged since the 1930s, and their antiquated design makes them inefficient.  No one had managed to come up with an effective solution to this problem - until now. With his Blade Compressor, British inventor Steve Lindsey has devised a more efficient, oil-free rotary compressor that offers a greener solution to traditional compression technology, and can deliver energy savings of more than 20%.

"Steve Lindsey's invention offers a highly-efficient alternative to traditional air compressors, and is poised to shake up the compression industry," said EPO President Benoît Battistelli. "Because air compressors are used across such a large number of industries, it also has the potential to make an impact on worldwide energy consumption and cut carbon footprints across many energy-intensive sectors."  

Lindsey says: "I didn't know a great deal about compressors. And then I read that 10 percent of electricity that is used within Europe across all industries goes into compressors. And I realized that if you could make a difference to that, you could potentially make a big difference to energy usage across Europe."



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SOURCE The European Patent Office (EPO)