READ : IndustReal Podcast Interview: carbon reduction and the circular economy

We have the advantage that our products are already designed to be returned, refurbished, and resold, at the same as maintaining high standards of performance and energy efficiency. Modular designs support easy disassembly and part replacement, extending product life and reducing waste. The importance of this to the company can be seen in our Atlas Copco Gas and Process IndustReal Podcast interview with Louis Mann. 

Throughout the interview, Mann, the Marketing and R&D Manager for Atlas Copco Mafi Trench, stresses how important industrial machinery is in fostering this low-carbon, circular economy. He begins, however, by answering a straight-forward question: why is low carbon so important?  “Simply put,” he says, “climate change. Reducing our carbon footprint is important for a sustainable future.”

While it is important to recognize the centrality of creating a low-carbon, modern industrial landscape, it is not only about the environment. Reducing raw material usage, minimizing waste and extending a product’s lifespan also makes sense economically.  “Moving towards low-carbon solutions opens up new technologies and new business models,” Mann reminds us.

Where does the industrial world of expanders, turboexpanders, compressors and pumps fit into all this? All such machines have long been employed in industrial processes. And Atlas Copco has for decades been at the forefront of progressively improving the performance of all such machines. “This in turn reduces the carbon footprint because it has a large impact on our customers processing efficiencies.” 

On top of this, Atlas Copco has also consistently focused on how the manufacturing of our equipment impacts the environment. “We're actually putting in a lot of applications right now that are really exciting that directly go towards decarbonization,” he explains. Our machines are employed in carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) and in renewable energy production. “You don't always think about compressors and expanders when talking about renewable energy. But it's important to understand that they enable renewable energy,” he says.

Mann cites the example of renewable energy via solar in California, in the US, where he is based. The sun doesn't shine every day, he points out, which means using efficient energy storage to enable the use of solar. “You might think of batteries when you think of energy storage,” he says. “But there are other applications for that: compressors and expanders are used in long-term energy storage, which might include compressed-air energy storage or thermal-energy storage.”

In addition, Atlas Copco Gas and Process turbomachines have also been used in hydrogen or hydrogen-rich applications for decades, plus in hydrogen transportation and hydrogen liquefaction. Taking place right now is the scaling up of hydrogen liquefaction, which will bring down the cost. This process is a great fit “for our machinery”, Mann says, because the company has been producing large machinery for hydrogen applications for a long time and is in prime position to support market scale-up.

Employing industrial machinery in carbon reduction and making progress in the circular economy has long made sense for Atlas Copco Gas and Process. As Mann says, “The markets that we've served for decades are looking to increase their decarbonization efforts and Atlas Copco will continue to innovate in this area and support their growth. In short, wherever our customers want to grow we will be there right with them to support them.”