Air Squared is a

vertically integrated In microeconomics, management and international political economy, vertical integration is a term that describes the arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is integrated and owned by that company. Usually each member of the suppl ...

research and development ( R&D) original equipment manufacturing (

OEM An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...

) firm headquartered in Thornton,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. Its operations include the design, fabrication, and production of oil-free scroll compressors,

vacuum pumps A vacuum is a space devoid of matter. The word is derived from the Latin adjective ''vacuus'' for "vacant" or " void". An approximation to such vacuum is a region with a gaseous pressure much less than atmospheric pressure. Physicists often di ...

, and expanders. Organized in two divisions, Air Squared Manufacturing handles volume assembly and production whereas Air Squared Inc. handles research and development.

History

In 1991, Robert Shaffer founded Air Squared Inc. in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

to license oil-free scroll compressors for medical device applications. Air Squared's first patent was awarded in 1997 titled ''Scroll compressor having a tip seal''. In 2001, Air Squared Manufacturing Inc. was formed in Broomfield,

. Operations were consolidated when both entities merged to form Air Squared Group Inc. in 2016. In 2022, all operations were relocated to Thornton, Colorado.

Products & Research

Compressors

* Carbon dioxide (CO₂) compressor for the Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (

MOXIE Moxie is a brand of carbonated beverage that is among the first mass-produced soft drinks in the United States. It was created around 1876 by Augustin Thompson as a patent medicine called "Moxie Nerve Food" and was produced in Lowell, Massa ...

). * Liquid-cooled air

braking A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Backgroun ...

compressor for heavy-duty electric vehicles. * Fuel cell forklift air compressor. * Oil-free bedside medical device air compressors. * Zero-gravity vapor compression refrigeration compressor system (

VCRS A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette, and can play back the recording. ...

Vacuum Pumps

* All-metal Tokamak reactor

tritium Tritium ( or , ) or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with half-life about 12 years. The nucleus of tritium (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus ...

roughing vacuum pump. * Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) vacuum pump.

Expanders

* Organic Rankie cycle ( ORC)

waste heat recovery A waste heat recovery unit (WHRU) is an energy recovery heat exchanger that transfers heat from process outputs at high temperature to another part of the process for some purpose, usually increased efficiency. The WHRU is a tool involved in cogen ...

generator set expander and pump. * Integrated

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon ...

fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...

, and waste heat recovery generator set expander.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Air Squared Manufacturing companies based in Colorado Science and technology in Colorado