National Science Foundation awarded a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase 1 grant in the amount of $149,000 to GoNano Technologies, Inc., an Idaho based materials company specializing in the development of high surface area Nanospring™ materials. The objective is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of a novel four-way catalytic converter for diesel emissions. While there is ongoing research to combine multiple functions into a single catalytic converter, GoNano is applying its proprietary Nanospring technology to improve on current concepts.
“Pending changes in the regulatory environment have given way to opportunity in diesel emission catalytic converters and particulate mitigation.” said Tim Kinkeade, CEO of GoNano Technologies. “GoNano’s ability to coat a wide variety of substrates, coupled with the capacity to coat silica Nanosprings with a full spectrum of active catalysts, provides an ideal technology fit for integration into the catalytic converter market.”
In 2013, stricter EPA requirements for diesel emissions standards will come into effect, per Environmental Protection Agency 40 CFR Part 63: National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines . These new regulations will affect carbon emissions both in terms of allowable particle size and number of particles. While there are proposals to meet impending particulate matter regulations, none actively integrates all the required functions into a single catalytic converter. The broader commercial impacts of these new regulations represent significant market opportunity in the United States and in Europe.
“Engineering the morphology of the inner surface of the Catalytic Converters is a novel approach and has the potential to increase reactivity through higher exposed surface area, decrease light-off temperature through smaller particle size, and decrease cost through reduced amounts of PGM,” added Dr. Giancarlo Corti, Vice President of Research and Development.