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In this article, Stef Lievens – Business Line Manager for Industrial Air at Atlas Copco Compressors UK - argues that compressed air represents the next big viable opportunity for UK manufacturers to save energy and reduce carbon emissions.
Stef Lievens, Business Line Manager - Atlas Copco Compressors
The answer is undoubtedly yes, and a technology that presents great potential for both immediate energy efficiency improvements and long-term total cost of ownership savings is compressed air. There’s no argument that compressed air is a mature technology, with stationary compressors having been successfully utilised in various parts of UK industry for several decades. However, what is widely overlooked by the public, and some professionals working in senior positions at major UK manufacturing companies, is the essential, yet hidden, role that compressed air plays in everyday life. From pneumatic conveying lines in factories, to powering the moving exhibits in museums and theme parks, compressed air is literally used everywhere. But LED and air compressors aren’t the same, right? That’s undeniable, but their potential impact on production sites and wider industry is comparable in many ways. With conservative analyses estimating it accounts for 10 per cent of all energy used in global industry, there’s no doubt compressed air should be high on the agenda of any enterprise seeking to reduce its carbon footprint. Thankfully, there have been significant advances in recent years that can enable companies to drastically improve both production and energy efficiency.
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About the author
Stef Lievens is a Belgian citizen, with a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration from the University of Leuven, Belgium. He and his sales team have a customer-centric focus on offering reliable and cost-effective compressed air and industrial gas solutions that have a short payback. They seek to raise awareness of complementary technologies that offer improved productivity; such as quality air ancillaries, energy recovery systems, remote monitoring programs and real-time control and management software.