Sprintex unveils new e-compressors as it targets the clean energy market

Sprintex’s launch of the S15, S18 and S26 e-compressors take the company into the lucrative market of clean energy including hydrogen fuel cells and waste water treatment.

Sprintex (ASX: SIX) has just completed design and testing of several new high-speed e- compressors that could be used in hydrogen fuel cells, the e-boosting of internal combustion engines, as well as industrial applications.

The company unveiled its new S15, S18 and S26 e-compressors at the World Hydrogen Expo held at Messe Bremen in Germany earlier this week.

The expo is the largest of its kind in this rapidly growing segment, and offered Sprintex opportunities to interact with key international hydrogen energy professionals.

In a couple of weeks time, Sprintex will also launch the new compressors at the world’s largest automotive expo, the SEMA Show, in Las Vegas.

The show has been held annually for more than 50 years, attracting up to 150,000 industry-only participants from approximately 165 countries, including more than 50,000 industry procurement specialists.

Sprintex says it’s expecting significant interest from these events.

The S15, S18 and S26 e-compressors

Sprintex S15 is a 3Kw compressor range, with versions suited to fuel cells of up to 20kW capacity, commonly used in forklift truck applications, mobile phone network installations, and other stationary power generation needs.

It also has automotive e-boosting applications for electric vehicles that have small internal combustion engines.

The S15 compressor can also be used in clean air requirements for food processing and general industrial process applications.

The unit is very light weight at around 3kg and compact, and features air-cooled ultra-high-speed solid bar magnet electric motor and dedicated motor controller.

The Sprintex S18 is similar in design to S15, but includes liquid cooling offering a higher-pressure ratio output.

It supports e-boosted internal combustion engines of up to 200kw, or fuel cell range extender applications up to approximately 40kw for electric plug-in vehicles.

It also has many generic clean air applications in industrial processing.

Sprintex S26 meanwhile is an advanced design, high-speed hydrogen fuel cell compressor, featuring a very small electric motor rotor diameter of just 26mm.

It offers exceptional efficiency and compact packaging, ideally suited to hydrogen fuel cell / battery electric full size semi-trailer trucks for line-haul trucks and construction equipment etc.

The company’s R&D team is currently developing a version of the S26 compressor that will include a turbine expander on a common shaft with the electric motor and compressor, offering up to 11kw of energy recovery from exhaust heat from either fuel cell or ICE powered applications.

Sprintex says these product launches reflect the company’s expansion into the rapidly growing clean energy and clean air supply market sectors.

Global patents

Sprintex owns a world leading compressor technology supported by a library of global patents.

These compressors have already been proven in mechanical drive applications, and successfully applied and tested in the after-market automotive applications.

The same compressor technology is now being applied to electric drive compressor applications, targeting hydrogen fuel cells, as well as clean air applications such as waste water treatment.

The burgeoning hydrogen fuel cell along with waste water treatment and eSuperchargers are the three markets Sprintex is aiming to target.

To expedite this goal, Sprintex signed a collaboration agreement with Aeristech, a global technological leader in electric compressors.

The agreement allows Sprintex to leverage Aeristech’s expertise in turbomachinery and air bearing to fast-track development of a range of eCompressors.

This will in turn facilitate Sprintex’s penetration into the high-growth and lucrative hydrogen energy and clean air markets.

Both Srpintex Aeristech are confident that together they can accelerate the expansion of market coverage and the realisation of revenues leading to profits.

Opportunity in hydrogen fuel cells

Hydrogen is said to be the new diesel, with fuel cells expected to replace diesel engines in transportation, machinery, and power generation in the future.

The global fuel cell market is projected to grow from USD$ 3.36b in 2021 to US$28.95b in 2028.

The fuel cell compressor market represents 20% of the fuel cell market size, and there are currently only less than 15 companies worldwide competing in this space (led by Garrett, BorgWarner, Bosch, Liebherr).

Opportunity in industrial air compressors

The market for industrial clean air compressors meanwhile is set to grow to GBP 82 billion by 2026.

An industrial air compressor is used in modern production of metallurgy, food and medicine, fabrics, wastewater treatment, vacuum, paper pulp, cement and semi-conductors etc.

At the moment, this space is dominated by less efficient technologies, which will soon become obsolete as a result of new regulations.

Going forward, the market will be driven by industrial demand for oil-free air, which can improve the end-use equipment performance while lowering emissions, energy consumption, and total cost of ownership.

Sprintex’s compressor could be the ideal solution as it provides frictionless high-speed centrifugal that can reduce 10-40% of energy consumption compared to traditional lobe-type compressors.

Opportunity in eSuperchargers

Now used in Mercedes AMG and S-class, Audi diesel engines and mild-hybrids, eSupercharger/eTurbo is an essential step in turbo system electrification for mild-hybrid engines, providing more powerful yet cleaner energy.

An eSupercharger works by charging air into an engine to boost its performance, improves the combustion process, fuel economy, and reduces emissions.

Sprintex says its eSupercharger is the world’s most powerful dense motor for the 6kW to 10kW range, and its compact and low weight makes for an easy system layout.

It has a response time of only 0.3s from 5,000 rpm to 75,000 rpm.

It’s also flexible and capable of serving as a single boosting device, with variants available for 12V, 48V and higher voltage vehicle systems for petrol, diesel and CNG engines.

Opportunity in superchargers

The supercharger/turbo market meanwhile is a well established market, and is expected to grow to GBP14 billion by 2026.

Key drivers in this segment include government regulations, which are driving continued growth in eSupercharging for both traditional and hybrid engine applications.

In this segment, Sprintex will focus on diesel engine commercial vehicles, both mechanical and electrical.

This article was developed in collaboration with Sprintex, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.