Calnetix Technologies and Subsidiary Sapphire Technologies to Present and Exhibit at ASME Turbo Expo Virtual Conference

CERRITOS, Calif. – May 25, 2021 – Calnetix Technologies and its newly formed subsidiary Sapphire Technologies will jointly exhibit and present papers on a turboexpander-generator (TEG) for gas pressure letdown (PLD) at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Turbomachinery Virtual Technical Conference and Exposition from June 7-11.

On June 7, Sapphire’s Senior Program Manager Jeremy Liu will present Part II of a two-part paper entitled, “The Development of Turboexpander-Generator for Gas Pressure Letdown - Economic Analysis.” The paper explores the economic implications related to the development of TEGs for natural gas and hydrogen PLD applications. Liu will explain a cost-benefit analysis for various TEG subsystem design choices and will present a comparison of Sapphire’s technology with other clean energy solutions, using the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) calculation.

The paper is co-authored by Eric Blumber, Calnetix’s Director of Engineering; Rasish Khatri, Calnetix’s Manager of Rotordynamics and AMB Controls; and Freddie Sarhan, Sapphire’s CEO.

“Calnetix has been at the forefront of turboexpander technology and has already enabled a number of breakthroughs within the oil and gas sector,” said Vatche Artinian, CEO of Calnetix. “Sapphire Technologies was launched to broaden the market impact of our turboexpander technology and help customers generate additional revenue by creating valuable electricity that can either be sold to the grid or employed within a plant to reduce costs.”

On June 9, Khatri will present Part I of the two-part paper entitled, “The Development of Turboexpander-Generator for Gas Pressure Letdown - Design and Analysis.” The paper is co-authored by Mitsuru Kozuka and Hiroshi Kajita, Toho Gas’ Senior Managers; Ovais Najeeb, Calnetix’s Rotordynamics and Controls Engineer; Blumber; Sarhan; and Liu.

The paper describes the design and development of two innovative TEGs that run on magnetic bearings and produce 125 kW and 280 kW of power from a natural gas PLD application. The authors describe the detailed design of the magnetic bearings, motor generators and touchdown bearings, along with an active magnetic bearing (AMB) closed-loop dynamics study, which includes comprehensive rotordynamics and controls analyses.

“Sapphire’s turboexpander-generator system uses advanced magnetic technologies to achieve the necessary pressure reduction in gas pipelines while producing useable clean power and reducing carbon emissions,” said Sarhan. “The installation of the 125 kW and 280 kW turboexpander systems at Toho Gas’ natural gas facility will maximize their plant efficiency and productivity and also help them to transition into a low-carbon future.”

In addition to the paper presentation, Calnetix and Sapphire will jointly host a virtual exhibit booth for the event. Attendees are invited to learn more about the companies’ products and chat with experts by visiting Calnetix’s virtual booth.

The ASME Turbo Expo is in its 66th year of bringing together the best and brightest experts from around the world to share the latest in turbine technology, research, development and application in gas turbines, steam turbines, wind turbines, fans/blowers, Rankine cycle and supercritical CO2.

About Calnetix Technologies

Calnetix Technologies, LLC (“Calnetix”), headquartered in Cerritos, Calif., is focused on Innovation That Drives Industries®. The company specializes in high-performance, high-speed motor generators and best-in-class advanced magnetic bearings and control systems. Calnetix’s patented, underlying technologies, which have been in use since the company’s inception in 1998, have made Calnetix a world leader in the design and production of high-speed machines. The company’s overall technology portfolio and system integration capabilities have led to development and production contracts with industry leaders and the start of many successful subsidiaries that focus on unique niche markets.

About Sapphire Technologies

Based in Cerritos, Calif., Sapphire Technologies develops, manufactures and sells energy recovery systems for hydrogen and natural gas industrial applications. These reliable and sustainable systems are specifically designed to convert the energy wasted in pressure reduction processes into clean electric power without interrupting production or processing activities. Sapphire Technologies is a wholly owned subsidiary of Calnetix Technologies.