Our products

Liquids and gases flow through every industrial process and into every modern home. The hardware devices used to control flow have remained fundamentally unchanged for decades, and in some cases, centuries. Actuation Lab is developing its first two products to rid the world’s pipework of these energy sapping, high maintenance, outdated devices.

Callimorph

Callimorph

Photo of the Callimorph actuator
Photo of the Callimorph actuator

Dragonfly

Dragonfly

Photo of the Dragonfly Valve
Photo of the Dragonfly Valve

Actuation Lab’s Callimorph Actuator takes the nuts and bolts and springs and shafts of the traditional actuator and replaces them with just a single moving part which is built from corrosion-free composite materials. We are first applying the Callimorph Actuator to operate valves in extreme conditions, working towards relieving the £368 million maintenance backlog of corroded and worn valve actuators in the UK energy industry, and reducing maintenance burdens worldwide.

We have engineered the Callimorph Valve Actuator to have zero metal components and never corrode, for actuators which survive in any conditions.

The Callimorph’s wear-free design is optimised to survive when run for long periods on an air supply which is contaminated with particulates and has a high moisture content.

The Callimorph Valve Actuator is modular and designed to be retrofitted to valves currently in service, replacing failed actuators with minimal downtime.

Photo of the Callimorph actuator

Harnessing the power of origami, the Callimorph Actuator contracts like a muscle when pressurised, with 5x the force of a pneumatic piston. Its spring-like structure means it has a 2-way action, making it a versatile and powerful way of creating mechanical movement.

Harnessing the power of modern composite materials, Actuation Lab has simplified the structure of the Callimorph to a single moving part. Zero sliding components = zero wear, eliminating maintenance.

Dragonfly^Valve

The use of hydrogen has the potential to eliminate over half the UK’s carbon emissions. However, hydrogen is the smallest element and can escape through microscopic openings and worn seals. Without innovation in UK gas infrastructure, 75,000 tonnes of hydrogen could be lost annually. This is £200 million of lost product and equivalent to 372,000 tonnes of CO2. This is where the Dragonfly Valve comes in.

The more freely a gas or any fluid can flow through a valve, the lower the energy required to get it to the customer. Unlike our competitors, we have not compromised the flow efficiency of our valve in order to increase its containment characteristics. The Dragonfly has market-leading “full-bore” flow characteristics for minimal energy consumption.

Photo of the Dragonfly Valve

The origami-inspired Dragonfly Valve mechanism is designed in such a way that the potential gas leak paths found in traditional valves are eliminated. The Dragonfly Valve is designed to be leak-free for life, preventing explosive and environmentally damaging gases from ever reaching the atmosphere.

The Dragonfly’s proprietary folding valve design requires the absolute minimum force to open and close, allowing it to be operated with small and extremely efficient electric motors. This design eliminates the gearbox which is needed in traditional electrically actuated valves, increasing reliability.

Latest News

  • 21.11.22

    ACTUATION LAB ATTEND THE BVAA ANNUAL MEETING AND GALA BALL

    The BVAA know how to look after their members! Last Friday, the Actuation Lab team had an absolute blast at Carden Park for the BVAA Annual Meetings, AGM and Gala [...]

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  • 10.10.22

    ACTUATION LAB PRESENT PROTOTYPES AT BVAA EVENT

    Last week we had the pleasure of displaying our composite material actuator and leak-free valve prototypes to the staff at Atkins in Bristol, as part of the BVAA desktop exhibit. Our CTO Michael Dicker was on [...]

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  • 04.10.22

    ACTUATION LAB SHOWCASE THE DRAGONFLY VALVE

    Over the last 9 months, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) have been supporting our work developing the leak-free Dragonfly valve for hydrogen applications. Last Thursday our [...]

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