Compressed air plays a major part in many industries and almost 13 % of all the industry-related electricity consumption goes towards generating compressed air. Traditional compressors use oil and even the standard 'oil-free-dry-screw' compressor technology needs some oil for lubrication. Finnish company Tamturbo has developed new completely oil-less compressors which are based on active magnetic bearings. As the rotating parts are levitating there is no need for oiling and parts don’t wear out. The maintenance cost of Tamturbo compressors is much lower than with older oil-free-dry-screw compressors which can easily break up and tend to need constant maintenance. As Tamturbo compressors don’t need refilling or changes, no oil waste or filter waste is being created. On top of that, electricity consumption can be even 20 % lower than with older technologies.

To complement the traditional business model of selling compressors, Tamturbo has created a new model in which it sells compressed air as a service. In this model, customers are being charged based on air consumed and the compressor units are owned and maintained by Tamturbo. When an agreement comes to an end, Tamturbo can supply the same compressors to another customer with a similar agreement. This business model helps to keep investment costs down and saves resources.

With the completely oil-less design, the customers are guaranteed to have clean air without risks of contamination. This is helpful in many applications in the food industry etc.

Benefits

• Lower maintenance costs
• Oil-less design eliminates contamination risks
• Air-as-a-service model cuts down the investment costs and, with a 15-year lifecycle, the annual costs are significantly lower than with the traditional ownership model and older compressor designs