Fire Scientists Score $2 Million in DOE Grants
Relentless Push to Eliminate Particulate Matter Air Pollution Accelerates
MF Fire has been transforming wood heat into clean, renewable energy, and eliminating particulate matter from wood fires since 2014. Today, MF Fire announced it received two (2) Department of Energy grants from the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy totaling $2 million to aggressively advance the state of the art for particulate matter reduction in wood stoves.
“MF Fire is honored to receive two of the three grants awarded across our entire industry. It speaks volumes about the capabilities and expertise of the team. These funds will fuel a dramatic increase in the size of our engineering, research and product teams, all of whom will be based in Baltimore.” said Paul LaPorte, MF Fire’s CEO.
Wood stoves remain a mainstay heating option for 50 million Americans who get some or all of their heat from wood. Worldwide, half a billion people rely on wood for heat. All those fires contribute large amounts of air pollution in the form of particulate matter (PM2.5) and climate-changing carbon dioxide (CO2).
The two grants will help MF Fire develop and validate two unique technologies in preparation for broad commercial roll-out. One technology is for a device that continuously monitors performance of key combustion indicators and delivers real-time user guidance to enable consumers to get the most efficiency from their stoves while minimizing particulate emissions. The second technology is for a “swirl stove” that induces and maintains swirling combustion, continuously achieving optimal air/fuel mixing that is expected to lead to near-zero emissions.
Ryan Fisher, MF Fire’s COO and co-founder stated, “PM2.5 is the leading environmental cause of poor health and premature death. In the United States, 40% of all particulate matter comes from burning wood. Eliminating particulate matter from wood fires would have an enormous impact on air quality and the lives of millions of people.”
LaPorte added, “Baltimore and early funding partners TEDCO’s Maryland Innovation Initiative, Abell Foundation, and the University of Maryland’s Momentum Fund believed in MF Fire from the very beginning and we are gratified that we can accelerate our efforts to deliver jobs and economic growth back into our Baltimore community.”
Headquartered in Baltimore, MD, MF Fire is transforming wood heat into clean energy. MF Fire is a technology company built by fire scientists, leveraging advanced combustion science to engineer superior fire products. MF Fire is committed to delivering the cleanest wood stove technology on the planet. There are 50 million Americans who rely on wood for heat and 500 million people worldwide. Traditional wood stoves create major health problems. MF Fire re-imagined the wood stove as a clean energy source and created the cleanest burning stove ever tested. MF Fire’s patented technologies help power the first fully automated, smart wood stove, Catalyst. MF Fire is the MIT Clean Energy Prize Winner, and the Grand Prize and Low Emissions Prize Winner of the 2015 Next Generation Wood Stove Design Challenge.
