Richmond’s very own whizzicle inventor has just been dubbed the ‘new Dyson’ and shortlisted for the 2017 European Inventor of the Year Award.

Steve Lindsey has been announced as a finalist in the ‘Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises’ category for his creative invention - the bade compressor – and will attend the award ceremony in Venice on June 15.

The European Inventor Award, which is in 12th year, is an internationally recognised and prestigious prize which is awarded to outstanding inventors for their creations.

The Richmond entrepreneur said: “To begin with I didn’t know a great deal about compressors, like many people. And then I read that 10 percent of electricity that is used within Europe across all industries goes into compressors.

“I realized that if you could make a difference to that, you could potentially make a big difference to energy usage across Europe.”

Mr Lindsey’s invention offers innovative alternative to the long existing air compressor - delivering more than 20 per cent in energy savings - which are found in many applications including factory machines, fridges and air conditioning.

Without much of a background in engineering his creation offers a more efficient and oil-free rotary device providing a green solution to the current technology and could have a major shake-up in the industry.

He said: “I think the exciting thing about compressors is they are behind nearly every part of modern life – from the compressors that open the doors on a train or a bus to the compressors that power the tools in factories or power the spray guns in factories to compressors in air conditioning or in the back of your fridge. And our compressor can potentially replace all of them over time.”

The inventor founded the company Lontra in 2004 to market his invention – initially targeting the wastewater sector – and licenses Blade compressor technology for other manufacturers to help meet customer demands across a variety of industries.

Benoît Battistelli, president of the EPO awards, said: "Steve Lindsey's invention offers a clever, highly-efficient alternative to traditional air compressors, and is poised to shake up the compression industry.”

The entrepreneur still has invigorating aspirations as he set sights on bringing his compressor to other industries including the pharmaceutical and food sectors.

"Because air compressors are used across such a large number of industries, it also has the potential to make an impact on worldwide energy consumption and cut carbon footprints across many energy-intensive sectors."

Mr Lindsey has already been awarded the UK's Manufacturing Entrepreneur of the Year award, The most innovative new technology of the year at the Water Industry Achievement Awards (2013) and the "Top Energy Product/Service" at the Environment and Energy Awards (2015).