The objective of the Centric Reciprocating Compressor (CRC) project is to address and implement the findings of our SME Phase 1 Feasibility Study (GA#75626) to upscale, pilot, and commercialise our highly energy efficient, cost-effective, and lightweight air compressor targeting the nitrogen generator manufacturers in the maritime shipping sector. CRC offers annual energy savings of min. 30% and reduces operating costs in 35%. Besides, CRC is the first rotary reciprocal displacement air compressor in the market, representing a major breakthrough and our unique selling point (USP). If widely implemented across the EU, CRC can cut industrial GHG emissions in Europe in 17MT of CO2. Consequently, it will help solve the challenge of a more energy efficient industry, and contribute towards the climate change objectives set-out in the Europe 2020 strategy. We have outlined a series of Commercialisation Objectives (COs) that build upon our validated technology and Feasibility Study. Achieving them will bring us to a wide market uptake across the EU and beyond: 1) Technology maturation objectives, to optimise CRC mechanical design prior to piloting and validation in real operating environment at end-user’s facilities. This will raise the TRL of our CRC technology from its current TRL6 to TRL8 (WP1). 2) Pilot and validation objectives, to demonstrate the economic performance, functionality, and user benefits through a large-scale piloting in industrial settings in collaboration with Air Products, elevating CRC from TRL8 to TRL9 (WP2). 3) Market maturation, communication, and innovation management objectives, enabling us to successfully bring CRC to the market and reach sales traction beyond Phase 2 (WP3, WP4, WP5 and WP6). Through the CRC Phase 2 project we will significantly boost the growth in our company. We project to reach accumulated revenues of €67.81m, generate at least 29 new full-time positions, and accumulate profits of €23.4m by year 5 post-project.

Current technologies and products in wet gas compression processes have several deficiencies, most importantly related to existing compressors´ high energy consumption, large size, intolerance to handling liquid; and consequent low energy efficiency, potential erosion, and breakdown. These issues become even more complex in some of the challenging for compression industries such as hydrogen production where particularities of the gas are especially challenging to handle in robust, cost- and energy-efficient manner. In turn, limitations of current compression systems prevent the large-scale deployment of hydrogen technologies. OTECHOS liquid tolerant Centric Reciprocating Compressor enabled to Pump (CRCP) project aims to mature and commercialise our breakthrough innovative centric reciprocating compressor – first cost-efficient liquid tolerant compressor combined with pumping action that addresses all the shortcomings of the existing wet gas compression solutions. It is a third to half size smaller than other compressors currently on the market, does not require additional drying units, as well as oil- and valve-free. Additionally, CRCP is being able to operate low speed, securing robust operation, while requiring low maintenance and having a low footprint. CRCP offers to its customers the annual energy savings of minimum 30% and up to 45% less CO2 emissions and reduction of operating costs by 35% in comparison to competing solutions. In broader scale, commercialisation of CRCP will significantly contribute to the EU Green Deal 2030 targets on improving energy efficiency by 5 TWh by 2030 (0.5 % contribution to EU-wide 2030 target) and cutting in greenhouse emission by 4 million tonnes CO2-eq (0.2 % contribution to EU-wide 2030 target). As such, CRCP is the first energy- and cost-efficient compression solution to enable large-scale deployment of efficient and sustainable wet gas compression in industry.

The EU has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 and becoming carbon neutral by 2050. Deployment of CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS) from different industrial sectors across Europe is a powerful fast track approach to abate CO2 emissions. CO2 transport and injection are the essential links between capture sites and storage reservoirs. The goal of ENCASE is to contribute to a safer, more cost-effective, and environmentally friendly CO2 transport and well injection. ENCASE aims to continuously improve 7 world-leading CCS-related research infrastructures (RIs) in the consortium with state-of-the-art scientific instruments, tools and methods to be the backbone for research and development of CCS technologies. Co-development of technologies will enhance the capability of RIs, increase RI personnel’s competence and enable these RIs to better address and close key knowledge gaps. ENCASE will safeguard and increase the competitiveness of these European RIs through strong collaboration with the CCS infrastructure operators, service companies, academia, and SMEs. The RIs will be available for the industry/SMEs for prototyping their new equipment/technology, e.g., pumping concepts, metering technologies, and simulator tools for monitoring, controlling and predicting the CO2 streams with impurities. The high-quality data produced in ENCASE will lift the knowledge level of industry and academia, which will contribute to the development of innovative companies and the education of future workforce for the CCS industry. Social innovation labs and co-creation initiatives will be developed by involving different stakeholders to address specific societal needs and better integrate the RIs in the local communities. Our success will improve the design and operation of CCS infrastructures and meet the EU climate goals. Thus, the enhanced research capacity build by ENCASE will benefit scientific community, industry, policy-makers, environment and society.

Acknowledging that energy prices define competitiveness of many industries and compressors represent energy-hungry core manufacturing technology, Otechos aims to offer market leading energy-efficient compressor technology for industrial applications, being the natural choice for industries seeking environmental friendly solutions with low total cost of ownership. With a new, premium type industrial compressor (CRC) for air and gases, based on our patent pending Centric Reciprocating Technology (CR-T), we will disrupt the existing, fast growing market for industrial compressors by offering end-customers 30% less energy consumption than existing technology, yielding improved competitiveness through reduced total cost of ownership while offering substantial environmental benefits. It not only meets key purchasing criteria, it defines a new standard. By offering the CRC as core component in turnkey compressor solutions delivered by strategic partners, Otechos, with its entrepreneurial and competent management team, will draw strengths from existing market channels and international partnerships. Initial penetration will focus on CRC application in nitrogen production generators for marine and oil & gas. New partnerships, to be initiated in phase 1, will open up the global potential in the broader €25,6 billion (2020) compressor market offering a CAGR of 7,1%. The P/L forecast shows a highly profitable business from year 3, following an investment of €2,3 mill and initial penetration of UK, Germany and Norway. As a bonus, the core technology CR-T has unique characteristics that makes it applicable in other areas as OTTO-type engines, pump technologies and gas / steam expander machines. Hence multiple business opportunities surface beyond compressor applications. Phase 1 will detail the rich potential of the patent pending technology and enhance the business plan.

Compressors and pumps account for 15-25% of total industrial energy consumption globally, while around third to half of energy consumed can be wasted due to their inefficient design, poor maintenance, and system leaks. The current solutions available on the market are of large size and require auxiliary equipment (constituting significant CAPEX) and have high maintenance demands (contributing to high OPEX), which results in very high Total Cost of Ownership and associated risks related to unplanned shutdowns. Though there is a growing demand to use new, energy-efficient technologies in line with the goals set in the updated EU Strategic Energy Technology Plan and Net-Zero Industry Act, there is a lack of commercially ready, cost- and energy efficient compressor and pump solutions that can serve various industries and applications by being able to handle various gases and fluids, enabling a considerable change on the market. Otechos cutting-edge multiphase system Centric Reciprocating Compressor Pump (CRCP) represents a multi-application engineering platform that can be used as a gas or air compressor, a fluid pump or waste heat regenerator, enabling significant cost- and energy savings and renewable energy production at scale. In 2020-2023, CRCP has been successfully tested and validated in industrial environment during the EIC Accelerator grant project. Since then, we signed and delivered first CRCP orders with several renowned industrial players that demonstrated CRCP energy consumption of only 31% for the same output of the customer's existing compressor, and as low as 19% - compared to customers existing equipment when used as a vacuum pump. The current CRCP equity-only project is aimed at large commercialisation and scale-up of CRCP in several industrial applications in Process, Maritime, Food & Beverage industries, which, in turn, will enable the estimated energy savings of 66.3 TWh corresponding to approximately 49m tons of CO2 avoided by 2030.