For Europe’s industrial manufacturers, compressed air accounts for a significant proportion of total energy costs, typically around 10% and as high as 40% in some facilities. This corresponds to approximately 10 TWh of electricity and CO₂ emissions of around 4.3 million tonnes. Climate protection concerns us all, which is why finding the right, sustainable compressed air system is vital to help in the fight against climate change.
Besides the environmental value, how else can sustainability help your business? Well, 80% of the total lifecycle costs of your compressed air systems are due to energy costs. So, energy efficiency not only supports sustainability by reducing CO₂ emissions but also leads to energy savings and lower total cost of ownership (TCO).
“With total greenhouse gas emissions of around 700 million tonnes per year, the industrial sector is the third-largest climate polluter in Europe.”
A comprehensive range of industries and applications relies heavily on compressed air, which makes choosing the right compressor for your needs essential, particularly when you operate in production sensitive environments. This is because these applications require a much higher standard of compressed air to ensure safety, efficiency and quality. This includes food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and electronic manufacturing processes, where stringent standards are in place to ensure these manufacturing sites and the pneumatic tools and equipment that power them are pollutant‑free. For these environments, oil‑free compressors will be favoured due to their oil‑free operation and minimised risk of contamination, whereas for other less sensitive environments, oil‑lubricated systems and compressed air treatment may be preferred. Let’s take a quick look at the differences…
Oil‑free compressed air systems are typically the more eco‑conscious choice, as their oil‑free operation means there is no oil or oil‑contaminated condensate to dispose of, which is known to have an environmental impact. This prevents additional oil replacement costs and means that air treatment equipment, such as filtration systems, oil‑separators and condensate treatment, isn’t required to remove oil and condensate. Overall, this equates to reduced whole‑life‑cycle costs. However, oil‑lubricated compressors also offer benefits, including reliability, efficiency, design variety, and the ability to be installed alongside a variety of accessories and air tools to maximise profitability.
For maximum air purity and sustainability in sensitive industries, ULTIMA is the new definition of oil‑free efficiency. Their 100% oil‑free operation meets a wide range of stringent requirements. Compared with other variable‑speed, oil‑free solutions, installing an air‑cooled ULTIMA system corresponds to an indirect reduction of 52 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. That’s comparable to the CO2 absorption by 5,207 trees!
Other models of oil‑free screw compressors are available, including single‑ and two‑stage options with optional variable‑speed, ranging from 4 to 10 bar.
Our FourCore oil‑lubricated systems are compact, efficient solutions that require the footprint of a single‑stage unit. They have been optimised for sustainability throughout their life cycle, making them ideal for environmentally conscious businesses that still want to use an oil‑lubricated system.
CompAir offer a complete range of compressed air dryers, filtration systems, condensate management, integrated heat recovery systems, and more to enhance the sustainability of your compressed air equipment.
Designed and manufactured in‑house by CompAir, our extensive range of air treatment and downstream equipment delivers energy efficiency with low environmental impact and the lowest total cost of ownership.
High quality dry air is guaranteed, with the same quality, performance and efficiency standards we build into our air compressors.
For sustainable performance on the go, CompAir’s Elec50 compressors offer emission‑free, quiet and economical electric drive. They are ideal for noise and environmentally sensitive areas, and offer potential savings of up to 36% in maintenance and service costs and up to 46% in energy costs.
At CompAir, we consider a comprehensive range of factors that impact the sustainability of your compressed air systems. We advise on the benefits to your overall efficiency that considerations such as leak prevention, air audits, heat recovery, correct sizing and variable speed may have. This allows us to provide you with an energy‑efficient, carbon‑conscious compressed air system to suit your exact needs.
Lower cost of ownership, efficient energy use and complete peace of mind with the optimal protection our Assure Service Agreements and Warranty provide.
Digital excellence, real‑time monitoring, and early fault detection with EcoPlant, which enables reduced downtime, as well as energy and CO2 transparency and reduced consumption.
Optimal energy efficiency and employment of sustainable practices with our Compressed Air Services, with access to energy and compressor management, genuine parts and IIoT monitoring.
Change your static air compressor monitoring control system to an eco-friendly dynamic EcoPlant one that may earn you top savings in the long run.
CompAir is a trusted partner fully committed to compressed air quality and efficiency.
This is why we maintain ISO 14001, 9001, and 50001 certifications.
These include:
This is the European Union’s main new growth strategy to transition the EU economy to a sustainable economic model. Presented in December 2019, the overarching objective of the Green Deal is for the EU to become the first climate neutral continent by 2050. As a milestone towards this goal, the EU Commission has proposed a 2030 target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55 per cent, compared to 1990.
The above 2030 target is – reflected in the European Climate Law. It sets a limit on the levels of CO2 removal that can count towards the 2030 target, to ensure that states – actively lower emissions, rather than removing them from the atmosphere through forests, for example.
Agreed by 196 parties in the French capital in December 2015, the Paris climate deal aims to keep the rise in global temperatures this century “well below 2 °C above preindustrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C.” Every one of the signatories had to lodge a climate action plan with the UN to spell out what steps they are taking to curb carbon.
Make a forward‑thinking decision about your compressed air system.
The climate, our environment, future generations – and your budget – will thank you.
