KleenAir Systems Inc., a fledgling developer of technology to cut auto emissions, has moved from Newport Beach to Fullerton and says it plans to target small power plants with its products.
The company has gotten inquiries in the past several months about whether it could upgrade its automotive nitrogen oxide reduction system to fit small plants producing up to 2 megawatts per day.
“We’ve already received a request to produce 500 such units for next summer,” said KleenAir President Lionel Simons.
But Simons said the development-stage company isn’t ready for that level of production. KleenAir won’t begin work on the equipment until it gets an order, he said.
The company earlier this month finished moving from 10,000 square feet in Newport Beach to an 18,000-square-foot facility in Fullerton, where it plans to go from 15 to 30 employees by year’s end. The company shares the Fullerton site with licensee Ecologic Engine Testing Laboratories.
KleenAir was founded in 1986 and doesn’t count any revenue except for $53,000 from a licensing pact struck in the first quarter. The company posted a $93,000 loss in the period.
The company’s linchpin is its nitrogen oxide and particulate reduction system for automobiles. Simons said the technology could work better with power plants than it does on cars, since power plants run at a relatively steady state compared with autos.
The company would need to secure verification and certification of its products from the California Air Resources Board before it could be deployed in power plants.
Tests on KleenAir’s system are under way at the University of California, Berkeley, as part of the company’s preparation for the urban bus and truck diesel retrofit markets and for the Air Resources Board’s retrofit certification program.
KleenAir Systems this month completed the first phase of emission tests of its nitrogen oxide reduction system on London-based taxis, achieving up to 70% reduction on both nitrogen oxide and particulate emissions, according to the company. Completion of the second phase could open up an opportunity to retrofit about 40,000 London cabs. KleenAir also has been encouraged to submit a proposal to test its equipment on London buses, the company said. n
