The cost is likely to be less important as time goes on and consumers become more aware (and caring) of the external cost to having inefficient machines.
Not to be trite, but cost is always important to the manufacturer. Tesla, for example, has been able to build a vertically integrated company through sheer will of its leadership. However, this is highly unusual and most product companies are going to want to invent as little as possible in order to ship a product. In this case a company wanting to sell an HVAC system based on this tech would have to develop the manufacturing pipeline to build these compressors vs. buying them from Copeland.
Now Copeland may choose to build these, but they are going to have to build the motor vs. buying them from one of hundreds of companies that build AC motors to spec.
Now one of those companies might decide to build these linear motors, but they are going to have to license the IP to do so, putting them at a distinct cost disadvantage vs. standard rotary motors. They are also going to be a sole supplier for some time, something manufacturers are very wary of unless it's a major differentiator. These are likely to cancel out.
Since you mention them - I wonder if Tesla might actually be an ideal customer.
As you say, they are vertically integrated, they are well set up to produce the full stack of the technology. They also need compressors (for air conditioning, and at least in their trucks for other systems), that need to be compact and energy efficient. The technologies at play (pressurized fluids, eletric motors and magnets) are all very familiar to them.
> In the Tesla Model Y, the heat pump was a true engineering marvel. Elon admitted on the podcast that he has a trophy rack of impressive tech his teams have come up with in his bedroom at home. The new printed circuit board (PCB) for the Tesla Octovalve was so impressive to Elon that he added it to his bedroom trophy rack.
