Test results Aether Catalyst Announces USMEAP 2022 Results and Extension for Year Three
Burnaby, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 6, 2023) - Aether Catalyst Solutions, Inc. (CSE: ATHR) (FSE: 2QZ) ("ATHR" or the "Company") Aether is pleased to announce year two results of the Urban Small Motors Emissions Abatement Project (USMEAP) with the City of Burnaby, and its extension for year three.
The first year of the project was challenging, in that unseasonably hot and dry weather limited the usage of the test equipment; despite this, the first year of testing showed that Aether's catalyst deployed in Burnaby's equipment resulted in a significant NOx abatement (of the order of 60%). NOx contributes to smog, acid rain and ground level ozone formation - all of which are significant health hazards. Once the catalyst was pulled from the mowers at the end of the season, it was discovered that a flaw in the packaging had allowed the catalyst to break up and resulted in significant "blow by," where untreated emissions were able to pass through without contact with the catalyst. This was addressed in the lead up to year two of the program.
For year two, the program was expanded to 6 units equipped with Aether catalysts, thereby increasing the data set. Additionally, technology from the first test was adjusted to maintain peak performance over a greater operating lifespan.
Highlights of year two of the USMEAP are as follows:
Technical Highlights
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All units had over 100 hours of usage and 3 had over 150 hours; there does not appear to be a correlation between higher usage and lower performance.
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4 units showed 100% NOx reduction after >100 hours usage; the remaining two were at 95% & 96% (likely analyzer error).
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Aether validated air injection concept - an external air pump was used to approximate the effect of air injection. This resulted in 40% HC conversion and 60% CO conversion (in addition to the NOx reduction); higher air flow, or more efficient engine operation could increase this oxidation of HC and CO further.
Program Highlights
- The program has been renewed for 2023.
- Current dataset is sufficient to begin OEM outreach.
o For the USMEAP, Aether was able to make use of the muffler housing, substituting its catalyst for existing muffler material; resulting in a plug and play solution with high performance, requiring minimal engineering, and no loss of sound dampening.
Aether and the City of Burnaby will continue the program for the 2023 season.
Taylor Procyk, Chief Operating Officer of Aether comments, "As always, Aether is fortunate to work with such a forward-looking, environmentally responsible City. Our catalyst technology has the potential to make a measurable change in emissions without the need to replace existing equipment. Continuing the field tests in the coming year will only provide further strength to the data generated thus far. We have a simple cost effective solution that can make a difference in urban air quality and we have begun outreach to the OEMs in the small motors space with our solution."