From the lab to the road:
ClearFlame Engine Technologies announces first
heavy-duty truck driving on 100% plant-based fuel
New milestone for scalable,
cost-effective technology fuels a greener future for hard-to-decarbonize
heavy-duty sector
Geneva, IL, February 10, 2022 —
ClearFlame
Engine Technologies, a company empowering rapid decarbonization
for global heavy-duty industry, announced today it has successfully
completed an ‘on-road’ demonstration of its proprietary technology
that enables a heavy-duty truck diesel engine to operate on 100%
renewable plant-based fuels. The validation of ClearFlame’s
technology marks a critical milestone in the company’s objective
to revolutionize carbon emissions within heavy-duty transportation,
one of the hardest sectors to electrify and decarbonize.
“This demonstration proves the
workability of our technology that takes the dirty diesel fuel out of
heavy-duty trucks,” said BJ Johnson, ClearFlame CEO and
co-founder. “The transportation sector is currently the
largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions. Simply hoping that we
get to net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050 is not good enough. If we
want to get serious in the fight against climate change, we need more
solutions that can enable swift decarbonization today, particularly
for heavy-duty trucks, which are among the worst offenders.”
Julie Blumreiter, ClearFlame’s
co-founder and chief technology officer noted, “Due to the
incredible work and dedication of our engineering team we’ve taken a
massive step in showing the world how our technology is a game-changer
for decarbonization of the heavy-duty transportation sector. This
vehicle is truly one-of-a-kind – the only Class 8 truck to run on 100%
ethanol fuel without any additives and without any diesel fuel.
Driving this vehicle today is actually less carbon intensive than a
comparable electric-powered truck. The ClearFlame-enabled engine meets
the performance and efficiency requirements customers expect from
their diesel trucks, while significantly reducing greenhouse gas
emissions and fuel costs.”
The demonstration of ClearFlame’s engine
technology was implemented by taking a Class 8 diesel truck running on
a Cummins X15 500hp 15L heavy-duty engine, commonly used for long-haul
truck and off-highway applications, and converting it to run on
renewable E98 ethanol. While the wide availability,
cost-effectiveness, and lower emissions of ethanol make it the fuel of
choice today for the engine, ClearFlame’s technology is fuel agnostic
and can run on a range of renewable fuels.
The trucks equipped with ClearFlame’s
engine technology will reduce CO₂ emissions significantly, while
lowering air quality emissions — particulate matter (soot) and
Nitrogen Oxides (smog). ClearFlame has the potential to mitigate
carbon in the heavy-duty truck sector faster than any alternative,
including hydrogen and battery EV, without compromising engine
performance. ClearFlame is moreover a cost-effective solution,
eliminating the “green premium” paradigm, and offering a fast,
scalable, and low-cost option to a clean and equitable future.
Diesel engines release billions of tons
of CO2 into the atmosphere each year, and
projections suggest that even with a growing number of
alternatives, only 25% of new heavy-duty trucks in 2035 will be zero
emissions, which means the remaining 75% will overwhelmingly rely on
fossil fuel — unless other alternatives are developed.
ClearFlame’s technology can be used
anywhere diesel engines are used today, and leverages existing
infrastructure — fuel production and distribution, engine
manufacturing and remanufacturing processes, and the heavy-duty parts
& services industry. The company is currently focused on heavy-duty
markets that don’t have sufficient alternatives to liquid combustion.
ClearFlame will continue testing its
trucks under various operating conditions throughout Q1 2022, with
customer beta testing underway by the end of 2022. In addition to
long-haul trucking, the technology enables emissions reduction for
hard-to-electrify applications in a wide range of industries,
including agriculture, power generation, and other off-highway
markets. ClearFlame is also working with John Deere on a pilot
demonstration project for an off-highway engine platform,
demonstrating the versatility of the company’s technology as a
retrofit option or original equipment integration.
The technological milestone comes less
than four months after the company announced it secured $17 million in
Series A Financing, led by Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy
Ventures, with participation from Mercuria, John Deere, and Clean
Energy Ventures.
About ClearFlame Engine
Technologies
At ClearFlame
Engine Technologies, we’re breaking the bond between the
diesel engine and diesel fuel, accelerating the path to true emissions
reduction for the heavy-duty and off-highway markets. Our technology
meets global sustainability goals using decarbonized liquid fuels
available throughout the world. Our technology lowers costs by
negating the need for complex aftertreatment technologies without
compromising the practicality or performance of traditional diesel
engines. For more information, visit
www.clearflame.com,
and follow us on
LinkedIn
and Twitter (@ClearFlameEng).
Media Contact:
For business/general media:
Jessica Barist Cohen, Chatham Strategies
jessicac@chatham-strategies.com
347.893.7992
Marc Smrikarov, Chatham Strategies
marcs@chatham-strategies.com
646.807.9710
Green Play Ammonia™, Yielder® NFuel Energy.
Spokane, Washington. 99212
www.exactrix.com
509 995 1879 cell, Pacific.
Nathan1@greenplayammonia.com
exactrix@exactrix.com
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