Dec. 31, 2015—Tecogen Inc., a manufacturer of heat and power products, announced on Wednesday the formation of a joint venture company with a group of strategic investors for its patented Ultera emissions control technology. The new technology was created to advance Tecogen’s near-zero emissions technology for adaptation to transportation applications powered by spark-ignited engines.
Tecogen has granted Ultratek an exclusive license for development of its patented, emissions-related, intellectual property for the vehicle market. The strategic investors have contributed a total of $3 million to finance the initial operations of the joint venture. Tecogen retains the rights to its Ultera emissions control technology for all other applications.
"Our emissions technology systems have been installed and successfully operating for both natural gas and biogas-fueled stationary engine applications for several years now," said Robert Panora, president of Tecogen. "The Emissions Advisory Committee (the formation of which was previously announced in October) believes the system may be successfully applied to automotive engines and we are excited to move forward with our new Strategic Partners to pursue the vast potential vehicle market opportunity."
The patented ultra-clean emissions control technology has been tested by independent labs and consistently reduced the emission of criteria pollutants contributing to smog to near zero levels for natural gas engines. Tecogen’s emissions technology has been independently verified by New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection and by AVL California Technology Center. Emissions measurements from stationary systems equipped with the ultra-low emissions technology conform to the current California Air Resource Board (CARB) 2007 carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) standards for distributed power generation.
In addition to financing, the strategic investors have purchased 890,208 shares in Tecogen, which brings their total investment to $6 million.