IMET is racking up more recognition and gearing up to start selling its clean-diesel technology next year.
The Northville-based startup's GreenPower Muffler system reduces diesel fuel emissions and helps improve MPG for heavy-duty trucks. It made the semifinals of the
Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition in Detroit last month and won a $750,000 matching grant from the Port of Los Angeles before that.
The startup's team of six people is leveraging that recognition and money to get its technology to market. It needs approval from the state of California to make that happen, and it expects to receive that early next year.
"Once we have that we can go into full production," says Nick Cherasaro, director of marketing for
IMET.
IMET's technology was developed by Julius J Rim, an engineer who worked at the GM Tech Center for decades. He launched IMET after retiring and now serves as the company’s president.
"We have room to improve (diesel fuel technology)," Rim says. "That's why we're doing it."
The GreenPower Muffler System is different from traditional mufflers because it doesn’t use precious metals, like palladium and platinum, and instead uses water and carbon-silicon composite filters. It recovers muffler-waste heat to generate water vapor to be re-combusted in cylinder combustion chamber at low combustion temperature for nitrous oxide reduction without Urea-SCR.
This allows the technology to reduce particulate matter by 95 percent and cut nitrous oxide emissions by half. It is also half the cost of a regular muffler because it doesn’t use precious materials like traditional mufflers.
"It can pay for itself on an average truck within 18 months," Cherasaro says.
Source: Julius J Rim, founder & president of IMET and Nick Cherasaro, director of marketing for IMET
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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