Hydraulically Actuated Near-Isothermal Compressor

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Program:
OPEN 2018
Award:
$998,757
Location:
San Francisco, California
Status:
ALUMNI
Project Term:
02/19/2019 - 03/17/2022

Technology Description:

Otherlab is developing a near-isothermal gas compressor that has the potential to use 40% less energy than state-of-the-art near-adiabatic devices. Their compressor will employ a high-surface-area heat exchanger to achieve a near-isothermal compression process. During this effort, Otherlab seeks to demonstrate the thermodynamic performance of its concept in a subscale prototype device. If successful, Otherlab’s concept has the potential to offer compelling energy efficiency benefits in many major industrial sectors.

Potential Impact:

Otherlab aims to realize the energy benefits associated with near-isothermal compression technology with a scalable and cost-effective compressor concept. Their target is to double the efficiency of a comparable state-of-the-art (near-adiabatic) compressor at similar cost.

Security:

U.S. leadership on a broadly-applicable fundamental energy technology will be maintained.

Environment:

The proposed technology enables oil-free compression, making it applicable not only to all fields where clean gas is needed, but also where extra-clean air is required (i.e., medical, dental, and clean room applications).

Economy:

Eighty-two percent of U.S. industries use some form of compressed air. Combining the possible implications to all industries, this transformative technology impacts more than 5 quads of the U.S. energy economy, allowing for notable efficiency improvements.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. David Tew
Project Contact:
Dr. Adrien Benusiglio
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
adrien@otherlab.com

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Release Date:
12/13/2017