Norway’s TMC Compressors of the Seas (TMC) is launching a range of marine compressors for use in combination with air lubrication systems (ALS) to help ships further reduce fuel consumption and emissions to air.

Air lubrication systems are used to reduce the resistance between the ship’s hull and seawater by using air bubbles. The air bubble distribution across the hull surface reduces the resistance working on the ship’s hull, creating energy-saving effects.

TMC’s marine compressed air systems for air lubrication systems can be utilized to generate the required stream of air bubbles that pass continuously beneath the ship’s surface, thereby reducing frictional resistance between the hull and the seawater.

TMC will offer a wide range of large compressors for air lubrication system applications, ranging from 50 kW to 400 kW capacity. TMC has also developed an associated electronic ALS control system that is integrated in a specially designed control room cabinet.

For air lubrication systems, air bubble outlets are created at different locations along the bottom of the hull, ideally symmetrically on both sides of the ship’s center line. In combination with TMC’s ALS compressors, the system can continuously ensure that a uniform layer of air bubbles is maintained beneath the ship, and as a result produce the desired energy-saving effect.

“With the right ship hull design, the air lubrication system can generate substantial reductions of both fuel and CO₂ emissions, with an associated decrease of the vessel’s operating costs. We are proud to offer a compressed air product that can help ALS become more mainstream in the shipping and offshore industries,” says Hans Petter Tanum, TMC’s director of sales and business development..

Learn more about TMC’s Air Lubrication System compressors at their official website  or email Endre Aaberg Johansen, Corporate Communications AS, at endre.johansen@corpcom.no.