Pittsburgh Biodiesel Project Stands Out in a Crowd
Optimus Technologies, founded by MEMS alumnus Colin Huwyler, receives 2017 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today presented Pittsburgh-based Optimus Technologies and 20 other organizations from across the state with the 2017 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence. According to DEP, their projects “represent the very best in innovation, collaboration, and public service in environmental stewardship.”
Optimus partnered with Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities and the City of Pittsburgh to equip 25 of the city’s vehicles with their Vector System technology. The system optimizes vehicle performance and emissions reductions using 100 percent biodiesel (B100).
“We are honored to have been selected for this prestigious award and proud that we helped the City of Pittsburgh reduce vehicle emissions,” said Optimus CEO Colin Huwyler. “Our technology allows fleets to run seamlessly on B100, dramatically reducing both tailpipe and lifecycle emissions.”
Huwyler noted that the 25 vehicles used for the project represent 7.2 percent of GHG emissions for the entire city fleet of 1,038 vehicles. The use of the Vector System reduced GHG emissions by 6.4 percent fleet-wide.
“Every year we’re impressed anew by the ingenuity and commitment Pennsylvanians bring to environmental stewardship,” said DEP Acting Secretary Patrick McDonnell. “It’s exciting to see the interest is growing.”
About Optimus
Founded in 2010, Optimus Technologies is the market leader in high performance biodiesel conversion solutions that utilize biodiesel and diesel for medium- and heavy-duty truck fleets. With Optimus, fleet operators have a simple way to significantly reduce fuel costs and emissions, while addressing renewable fuel targets. Optimus was built on the vision and the knowledge that other alternative fuel solutions are prohibitively expensive and do not provide the same results as biodiesel. For more visit: https://www.optimustec.com/
About biodiesel
Made from an increasingly diverse mix of resources such as recycled cooking oil, soybean oil and animal fats, biodiesel is a renewable, clean-burning diesel replacement that can be used in existing diesel engines without modification. It is the first commercial-scale fuel produced across the U.S. to meet the EPA’s definition as an Advanced Biofuel - meaning the EPA has determined that biodiesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50 percent when compared with petroleum diesel. For more visit: http://biodiesel.org/
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Photo above: (left to right): Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn (Secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources), Patrick McDonnell (Acting Secretary for the Department of Environmental Protection), Colin Huwyler (CEO, Optimus Technologies), and Davitt Woodwell (President and CEO of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council).
Contact: Ian Winner